Ghana’s Crystal TV expands reach with Eutelsat

Ghanaian commercial broadcaster Crystal TV has signed a 10-year deal with satellite operator Eutelsat for capacity on the African beam of the Eutelsat 16A satellite.

The new capacity will enable Crystal TV to provide nationwide coverage of Ghana for its digital pay TV and free-to-air channels.

The company’s current subscription-free premium television content, including its branded channels – Crystal TV Prime, Crystal TV Plus and Crystal TV Xtra – has until now been limited to terrestrial reception in Ghana’s main urban areas in Accra, the Ashanti Region and parts of the country’s Eastern and Central regions.

Crystal TV will use the satellite’s high-power sub-Saharan African footprint to extend access to homes beyond range of terrestrial reception.

“Our partnership with Eutelsat is a major milestone in a new phase of digital broadcasting, embracing technology that goes beyond the varied limitations of signal distribution. This is the moment Ghana and Africa have been waiting for – to challenge ourselves as we embrace the future. It is an opportunity to offer unparalleled access to other broadcasters whose mission is to become global players with the support of Crystal’s technical facilities. With this Eutelsat partnership and other project partners, we believe the stage is set for Ghana and Africa to accelerate with ease the transition from analogue to digital TV,” said Paul Crystal-Djirackor, Crystal TV’s chief executive.

“This new relationship with Crystal TV is further evidence of Eutelsat’s ambition to leverage its experience and assets to support the digitisation of Africa’s TV landscape. Satellite technology is once again showing how it completes and complements terrestrial infrastructure, and is playing a key role in a fundamental shift to digital that brings viewers the benefits of choice and quality. We look forward to sharing our experience of pay-TV and free-to-air platforms with Crystal TV, and to further consolidating our 16° East neighbourhood as a major pole in Africa,” said Rodney Benn, Eutelsat’s regional vice-president for Africa.