SES NEW SKIES, an SES company (FR:SESG: news, chart, profile) (LuxX:SESG) announces that it has been contracted by Mediascape, Inc. to provide transponder capacity on the NSS-11 satellite for their new direct-to-home (DTH) satellite television service targeting the Philippines. Terms of the multiple-year, multiple-transponder contract remain confidential.
Mediascape's DTH service is expected to launch 24 channels in its basic tier package which includes highly desirable Filipino and English channels at affordable pricing levels. The service will be available in both postpaid and prepaid plans in collaboration with Smart Communications, Inc., the country's leading wireless company.
States Mr. Orlando B. Vea, President and CEO of Mediascape: "SES NEW SKIES' high power NSS-11 satellite provides optimal DTH coverage of our target markets, allowing for reception of our bouquet of channels on small, easy to install dishes. Direct-to-home satellite television is hugely successful in other markets in Asia, but has lagged behind in the Philippines. We are convinced that our offer on NSS-11 will meet consumer demand in the Philippines; and with our strong marketing and distribution network, we will help propel the pay-TV market here to new levels."
Elias Zaccack, Vice President, Sales, Asia-Pacific at SES NEW SKIES, concurs: "The Philippines' pay TV market is still at a nascent stage, compared with other regional pay-TV markets. At roughly 18% market penetration, pay-TV has a long way to go in the Philippines. NSS-11 offers an excellent platform to drive this growth: High look angles, excellent power levels, and capacity to grow. We look forward to working with Mediascape to successfully develop satellite DTH in the Philippines and beyond."
"108.2 East is quickly becoming a hot orbital position for video in East Asia," adds Zaccack. "With more than 120 channels in Chinese, Korean, Filipino, and English, and over a million homes connected thus far, NSS-11 has become a neighbourhood of choice for programmers wishing to penetrate markets in Korea, Taiwan, HK, China, and the Philippines."

About NSS-11
From the orbital position of 108.2 East, NSS-11 provides high-powered Ku-band coverage of China, Korea, Japan, the Philippines, South Asia, and parts of the Middle East. The spacecraft enables a full range of media and data applications, from direct --to-home television broadcasting to government communications and VSAT networks. NSS-11 is currently home to a number of Chinese-, Indian- and Korean-language television channels and pay-TV platforms, and supports an estimated 40,000 VSAT terminals in India.

About Mediascape, Inc.
Mediascape, Inc. a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mediaquest Holdings, Inc., is licensed to offer a direct-to-home (DTH) service in the Philippines and is also currently providing, on trial basis, a DVBH mobile TV service in partnership with Smart Communications, Inc. Mediaquest, its parent company, is a wholly owned subsidiary of the PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund, which holds various interests in media companies in the Philippines.
About SES NEW SKIES
SES NEW SKIES is an SES company (FR:SESG: news, chart, profile) (LuxX:SESG) offering satellite communication services to a range of customers including telecommunications providers, broadcasters, corporations and governments around the world. SES NEW SKIES has a global fleet of seven satellites in orbit, with three additional spacecraft under construction (NSS-9, NSS-12 and NSS-14) and ground facilities around the world.
Headquartered in The Hague, the company has offices in Johannesburg, Sao Paulo, Singapore, Sydney and Washington, D.C. In addition to SES NEW SKIES, SES wholly owns the market-leading satellite operators SES ASTRA in Europe and SES AMERICOM in North America, 90% of SES SIRIUS in Europe, and strategic participations in Ciel in Canada and Quetzsat in Mexico. SES provides outstanding satellite communications solutions via a global fleet of 38 satellites in 25 orbital locations. Further information on the company is available at SES NEW SKIES - Home and on SES at SES - HOMEPAGE

SOURCE: SES NEW SKIES