- NTL takes own transponder on direct-to-home satellite at 28.5ºE
- reacting to on-going market demand
- enabling true end-to-end bundled services for new channels
NTL's Broadcast division has secured a transponder lease on the Eurobird 1 satellite located at the popular 28.5ºE slot, enabling the company to offer competitive end-to-end services to new channel entrants on the Sky Digital platform. Recent NTL research shows that the growth in new digital TV channels is set to continue during a period of shortage in satellite capacity on both Astra and Eurobird.
Simon Thrush, head of satellite & playout at NTL explains: "The imminent shortage of direct-to-home satellite capacity is going to change the market for channels aspiring to launch on Sky Digital in the short to medium term. New channels may find it more difficult to get satellite capacity and it'll be increasingly attractive to take bundled services which include playout, uplinking and space segment. At NTL we can now offer a truly end-to-end satellite service from studio to home. Using Eurobird we can tailor a solution to support a channel's exact requirements."
NTL already operates shared multiplexes on Transponders 13, 18, 22 and 37 on Astra 2A, and Transponder 17 on Astra 2B.
In total NTL currently provides full-time transmission for around 160 TV channels, increasingly adding playout and other services from its Broadcast Media Centre at Feltham in west London. The £25-million expandable facility has studios with virtual sets, post production, digital content management, server-based playout, office accommodation and fibre connectivity to NTL's three satellite teleports.
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