SES Platform Services forms JV with Ghana’s K-Net

Satellite operator SES’s media services arm, SES Platform Services, has formed a joint venture with Ghanaian communications technology provider and telecom operator K-Net to bring content to Ghanaian homes via DTH satellite TV and digital-terrestrial TV.

The partnership, which will contract capacity from SES at 28.2° East to bring DTH and DTT services to the country, builds on an existing relationship between SES Platform Services and K-Net.

The joint venture will use SES’s satellite capacity, K-Net’s teleport services and SES Platform Services’ video platform services to offer a unified bouquet of free-to-air and free-to-view channels, from across West Africa, as well as some international channels, to viewers in the region.

Wilfried Urner, CEO of SES Platform Services, said, “We are proud to be K-Net’s partner of choice. We are at the forefront of the provision of FTA and FTV channels in the sub region and driving further DTH penetration in various West African countries. The partnership will further accelerate the globalisation of SES’s video business, increase our channel growth and establish us as a world-leading next generation video and media service provider.”

Richard Hlomador, chairman of K-Net said, “We have worked with SES since 2001 and are pleased to be able to extend our partnership with SES Platform Services. We have built a robust DTH platform, and delivering content in consistently high-quality is a top priority for us. This makes SES Platform Services the ideal partner of choice.”

Separately, SES has announced a multi-year, multi-transponder agreement with Sky Cable, the largest cable television provider in the Philippines. Sky Cable will be broadcasting DTH satellite TV channels via SES satellites at 108.2 East via the SES-9 and NSS-11 satellites.

Sky Cable currently offers cable TV services for 55 HD channels to 800,000 subscribers in 19 cities and municipalities in the Philippines.

The deal with SES will enable it to provide its bouquet to remote locations and islands that are underserved by terrestrial networks.