The number of TV channels broadcast over SES satellites grew 11.3% over 2015 to total 7,268, with the strongest growth in major emerging markets.
The company added that this was more than five times the overall growth of the rest of the industry and that it was well placed to launch 21% additional capacity for these markets by the end of 2017.
The penetration of HD channels across all markets continues to be an important driver of growth for SES. What the company called ‘superior development’ was driven by the continued introduction of new HDTV channels across Europe and North America, as well as the further expansion of video business across emerging markets. Nearly 60% of all channels on the SES fleet are now broadcast in the MPEG-4 compression standard.
The total number of HDTV channels served by SES's fleet of over 50 satellites grew by 18% to 2,230 channels, representing 31% of the total TV channels on SES satellites. In contrast, the number of HDTV channels carried over satellite for the rest of industry grew by 13% to about 6,400 channels. Over the same period, the number of HDTV channels broadcast over the SES fleet has increased by a compound rate of nearly 15% each year.
Looking at regional development, the number of total TV channels in Europe served by SES increased by 9% to nearly 2,600 channels, while the total channels in North America was unchanged at about 1,800 channels. The continued penetration of HDTV channels, which require more satellite capacity than standard definition (SD) channels, was the principal contributor to growth, as the number of HDTV channels grew by over 25% to nearly 700 channels in Europe and by over 3% to more than 1,200 channels in North America.
SES now carries close to 2,900 TV channels across a range of emerging markets, such as Latin America, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Africa, representing two-fifths of total of channels. This compares with just over 2,300 channels at the end of 2014 representing a growth of 25% in only one year. It also includes a doubling in HDTV channels to over 300.
Looking to the future, SES noted that it was at the forefront of the commercial introduction of Ultra HD services, and secured capacity agreements for seven 4KTV channels worldwide in 2015. It claimed that the outlook was for significant growth in the coming years as more commercial offerings gain momentum.
“SES is exceptionally well placed to leverage major growth opportunities, especially in new and emerging markets,” said SES chief commercial officer Ferdinand Kayser. “Our current launch programme is a dynamic engine for this future growth, delivering a 21% increase in capacity in the emerging markets by the end of 2017. In particular, the launches of SES-9 and SES-10 will drive growth by delivering a total of 80 additional transponders in Asia and Latin America, with important pre-fill rates underwritten by customer agreements. With more and more channels being broadcast in HD quality, and broadcasters entering the era of Ultra HD, 2016 and beyond will see continued growth and accelerated development for SES’s video segment."