SES Increases Reach in Nigeria to over 11m TV Homes

By Emma Okonji

SES, a global satellite service provider, significantly increased its technical reach in Nigeria to over 11 million TV homes in 2017, up from three million in 2015. The growth figure was obtained from the recent Satellite Monitor research, a market study commissioned by SES that provides insights on the broadcasting industry and on SES’s reach in the country.

The smonitor results reveal that SES now reaches over 11 million TV homes, of which 3.5 million are directly served by its satellite fleet – a twofold increase compared to 2015. This means SES now directly serves 37 per cent of satellite TV homes in Nigeria. Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) homes fed indirectly by SES also contributed to the increased reach.

The prime orbital position at 28.2 degrees East was a key driver for the growth of SES’s direct reach, with three million TV homes directly served via this orbital slot, up from 1.3 million in 2015. This video position hosts SES’s premium free-to-air TV platform for Nigeria, giving broadcasters access to the highest technical reach in West Africa. The growth of SES’s reach was also driven by direct satellite broadcasting and feeding DTT head-ends via five  degrees East.

According to the survey, there are 35 million TV homes in Nigeria, of which close to 10 million are served by satellite, and the rest are served by terrestrial networks. The penetration of digital TV has expanded to 25 million homes receiving digital TV signals, which represents 35 per cent growth compared to 2015.

Analysing the survey results at a press conference,  Vice President, Sales and Market Development for Africa, SES Video,  Mr. Clint Brown, said: “SES has been committed to driving the growth of digital TV in Nigeria for many years, and local partners in the country appreciate the Satellite Monitor study as a token of our commitment.

“We are particularly excited by our growing technical reach at 28.2 degrees East, which broadcasters and content programmers will be able to leverage to increase their audience via our Nigerian TV platform. In addition, the results show that the hybrid DTH/DTT approach is the winning strategy to deliver TV entertainment to the highest number of TV homes.”

While presenting the survey statistics, Vice President, Marketing at SES, Mr. Paul Freeman, said in addition to the growth of homes reached in Nigeria, the study also showed  that there was an increase from two million to four million homes reached in Ghana, Ethiopia, Uganda and Tanzania, which were being included in the Satellite Monitor for the first year, account for an additional seven million homes reached by SES. According to him, SES has also expanded its reach to 30 million TV homes across Africa.

 

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