SES Orders Two State-of-the-Art Satellites for its Prime TV Neighbourhood Serving 118 Million Homes
SES announced today it has ordered two geostationary (GEO) Ku-band satellites for its prime orbital slot at 19.2 degrees East to maintain the premium services it provides to its European video customers and to capture new opportunities in the region. These two replacement satellites – ASTRA 1P and ASTRA 1Q – will be built by Thales Alenia Space, a joint venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%) and are expected to launch in 2024.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211117006466/en/
SES Orders Two State-of-the-Art Satellites for its Prime TV Neighbourhood Serving 118 Million Homes (Photo: Business Wire)
ASTRA 1P, a classic wide-beam satellite, will support SES’s prime TV neighbourhood and enable content owners, private and public broadcasters across Germany, France and Spain to continue broadcasting satellite TV channels in the highest-picture quality in the most cost-efficient manner.
ASTRA 1Q, a next-generation digital satellite with both wide beams and high-throughput spot beams, will be able to support direct-to-home (DTH) operations like ASTRA 1P. In addition, the fully flexible ASTRA 1Q is customisable on orbit and can be deployed easily to other orbital positions, enabling SES to serve the dynamic needs of its video and data customers well into the future.
The current satellites operating at SES’s prime orbital neighbourhood of 19.2 degrees East serve an unparalleled 118 million households or over 43 percent of all European TV homes. Specifically the majority of satellite homes in Germany, France and Spain are being served by the ASTRA satellites. The number of TV homes receiving HD content from these satellites has increased almost 30 percent over the past five years.
“Our prime TV neighbourhood at 19.2 degrees East is one of our most valuable assets and has been key to enabling renowned European broadcasters to grow their TV audiences in the last 30 years. These two satellites will have the resiliency, reliability and redundancy that our video customers need, and will be able to deliver continued premium services well into 2040,” said Steve Collar, CEO of SES. “Additionally, thanks to advanced satellite technology, we will be future-proofing our investment and injecting a high degree of flexibility into ASTRA 1Q to ensure we are meeting the evolving needs of all the markets we serve.”
“This contract reflects the ability of Thales Alenia Space to match complementary customer’s needs for both capacity and flexibility. We are proud to offer to SES our full electric Spacebus NEO flight proven product line to answer Astra 1P mission as well as our innovative software defined solution Space Inspire, allowing Astra 1Q the full in-orbit flexibility requested to serve the dynamic of the evolving market,” said Hervé Derrey, CEO of Thales Alenia Space.
The procurement of the two satellites was already incorporated within SES's existing Capital Expenditure outlook for 2021-2025 and is fully compliant with the company’s financial policy.
Follow us on:
Twitter
Facebook
YouTube
LinkedIn
Instagram
Read our Blogs >
Visit the Media Gallery >
About SES
SES has a bold vision to deliver amazing experiences everywhere on earth by distributing the highest quality video content and providing seamless connectivity around the world. As the leader in global content connectivity solutions, SES operates the world’s only multi-orbit constellation of satellites with the unique combination of global coverage and high performance, including the commercially-proven, low-latency Medium Earth Orbit O3b system. By leveraging a vast and intelligent, cloud-enabled network, SES is able to deliver high-quality connectivity solutions anywhere on land, at sea or in the air, and is a trusted partner to the world’s leading telecommunications companies, mobile network operators, governments, connectivity and cloud service providers, broadcasters, video platform operators and content owners. SES’s video network carries over 8,500 channels and has an unparalleled reach of 361 million households, delivering managed media services for both linear and non-linear content. The company is listed on Paris and Luxembourg stock exchanges (Ticker: SESG). Further information is available at: www.ses.com.
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211117006466/en/
Contact information
Suzanne Ong
Tel: +352 710 725 500
External Communications
suzanne.ong@ses.com
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Ant International and HSBC Test New Cross-Border Payments Solution Using Tokenised Deposits on Swift’s Network and Powered by ISO 2002211.12.2025 05:00:00 EET | Press release
Ant International, HSBC and Swift today have completed a successful Proof of Concept (POC) for the cross-border transfer of tokenised deposits using ISO 20022 standards. The initiative leverages Swift’s global messaging network and HSBC’s recently launched Tokenised Deposit Service, combined with Ant International’s blockchain technology. The POC marks a key milestone in Ant International, HSBC, and Swift’s efforts to help businesses unlock the full benefits of tokenisation for enhanced liquidity, programmable finance, and 24/7 real-time settlement. As part of this initiative, Ant International and HSBC successfully integrated Ant International’s in-house blockchain infrastructure with Swift’s networks, enabling real-time treasury management across borders through HSBC Singapore and Hong Kong, via HSBC’s Tokenised Deposit Service. With the introduction of a common protocol co-built with Swift and HSBC, this could remove the need for Ant International to establish individual bilateral a
Canva Unveils 2026 Design Trends: The Year of ‘Imperfect by Design’11.12.2025 00:52:00 EET | Press release
Canva, the world’s leading all-in-one visual communication platform, today unveiled its third annual Design Trends Report with bold predictions for creativity, social media and brand content in 2026. The company also unveiled a “Design DNA” feature, which offers Canva users a custom recap that celebrates their creative output in 2025. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251210696597/en/ Canva Design DNA Trends from Creators, for Creators By analyzing design and search activity, expert insights from the Canva Designer Advisory Board, and a survey of 1,000 creators across the U.S. and Brazil, Canva has identified 10 design trends that will shape creative and design culture in 2026. The findings paint a clear picture: as creators embrace AI’s power, they also crave the human touches that make design feel personal. A New Creative Standard: Imperfect by Design As AI technology raises the baseline for what's possible, v
Audiencerate Achieves Google Customer Match Partner Status, strengthening its role as a Global Data Provider10.12.2025 23:40:00 EET | Press release
Audiencerate, an international technology company specializing in data activation solutions and platforms within the AdTech and MarTech sectors, has been officially awarded by Google as a Customer Match Upload Partner. This certification is granted to a restricted number of global operators (https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/7361372?hl=en) authorized to manage and onboard first-party data into the Google Ads and DV360 ecosystem. The company strengthen its strategic partnership with Google by adding the Customer Match Upload Partner accreditation to its existing status as a certified Google Data Provider. This new credential enables Audiencerate to seamlessly integrate proprietary audience segments and data into Google’s advertising platforms. The combination of these two accreditations represents an exceptionalsituation in the international landscape and solidifies Audiencerate's position in the digital advertising market, which is increasingly reliant on first-party data. T
Defence, Security and Resilience Bank (DSRB) Development Group – Official Statement10.12.2025 22:06:00 EET | Press release
On 8 September 2025, the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank (DSRB) Development Group convened a high-level meeting in the City of London with representatives from 37 nations, including all G7 members, alongside the European Commission, NATO, European Parliament, Global Banks, and Ratings Agencies to discuss the DSRB. A number of countries have now indicated their intention to begin the formal steps required to bring the DSRB into existence. This phased pattern of engagement is standard in the creation of international financial institutions, which typically begin with a core group of anchor nations and expand as additional members join through charter negotiations and subsequent capital rounds. The DSRB is designed to complement the European Union’s SAFE initiative, offering a broader multilateral platform that brings together NATO and Indo-Pacific nations and mobilises global capital to build the balance-sheet capacity required to finance nations’ defence spending and long-term res
ClickUp 4.0's Craft & Quality is Available Today, Maximizing Human Productivity10.12.2025 20:26:00 EET | Press release
ClickUp today announced the launch of ClickUp 4.0, a groundbreaking release designed to end the chaos of work sprawl and usher in a new era of work. With a bold vision for the convergence of software, people, and AI, ClickUp 4.0 delivers a suite of powerful new features that empower teams to do their best work in one converged workspace. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251210712132/en/ A new era of ClickUp For years, organizations have struggled with fragmented workflows, siloed tools, and the constant friction of context switching. ClickUp 4.0 is the answer: a single, beautifully crafted workspace that brings together tasks, docs, goals, chat, and AI-powered automation. The result is a platform that not only saves time but also sparks creativity and collaboration at every level. “Software is converging - we always knew it would. And it's about time, because work sprawl is the silent killer of productivity," s
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom