Eutelsat unveils Sat.tv Connect, enhancing the free-to-air satellite reception experience on the latest generation connected televisions

 Eutelsat Group is launching Sat.tv Connect, its new interactive application for connected TV sets (with integrated satellite tuner) dedicated to the hundreds of channels broadcast free-to-air on its satellites. The application is part of Eutelsat’s drive to enhance the broadcasting service provided to free-to-air channels carried on its satellites.

Over half of households worldwide are equipped with a smart TV, but many have insufficient bandwidth to receive programmes in good quality via the internet and require satellite TV reception. Sat.tv Connect is part of a hybrid configuration – combining access to live TV channels via satellite, in high resolution, with additional connected services via the Internet. Sat.tv Connect incorporates cutting-edge UX features such as multilingual support, including right-to-left languages and multi-satellite capability.

Sat.tv Connect offers a channel and programme guide enhancing the navigation of the hundreds of channels broadcast free-to-air via its satellites and received by more than 120 million Direct-to-Home TV households in the EMEA region. Its user interface features Now, Tonight & Week views, an enhanced Electronic Programme Guide (EPG) and a full Programme Information Pack (PIP) to enhance the video content discovery experience.

Already deployed on a growing base of consumer satellite set-top boxes, the Sat.tv service is now available on new-generation connected TV sets (with integrated satellite tuner) thanks to ‘Sat.tv Connect’. It combines two interactive television technology standards HbbTV (Hybrid Broadcast Broadband Television), which is already present in all leading brand-name TV sets, and DVB-I, the recent standard for logical channel scheduling, which is available in a growing number of new TV ranges on the market, making it compatible with over 3,000 television models.

Laurence Delpy, President of the Video Business Unit at Eutelsat Group commented: “As the leading satellite operator for free-to-air TV distribution in EMEA, both in number of channels broadcast and number of households served, we are delighted to launch the new Sat.tv Connect application. Sat.tv Connect enhances both the quality of service provided to our broadcast customers, bringing greater visibility for channels, whilst improving content discoverability and the TV viewing experience for end-users.”