Sky Cable, SES tieup for satellite TV service

MANILA, Philippines - Cable television (TV) provider Sky Cable Corp. has entered into a partnership with European SES for the rollout of direct to home (DTH) satellite TV service in the Philippines.

In a statement, SES said it has forged a multi-year agreement with Sky Cable to allow the latter to broadcast DTH satellite TV channels via SES satellites.

SES is involved in satellite communications services for broadcasters, content and Internet service providers, mobile and fixed network operators, and business and government organizations worldwide.

Through the partnership, Sky Cable will be able to complement is existing cable offerings by providing the DTH satellite TV service nationwide to cover even remote locations.

At present, Sky Cable offers cable TV services for 55 High Definition channels to 800,000 subscribers in 19 cities and municipalities in the Philippines.

“The geography of the Philippines presents a unique set of challenges for fiber or terrestrial connectivity. Our satellites are able to overcome these limitations and provide comprehensive and high-powered coverage over the entire archipelago including under-connected areas in the Philippines. We are glad to support Sky Cable as they use both ground and space infrastructure to expand their TV audience reach,” Deepak Mathur, senior vice president commercial for Asia Pacific and the Middle East at SES said.

For his part, Sky Cable chief operating officer Antonio Ventosa said tapping SES’ global expertise and extensive satellite footprint for satellite TV services would help in growing the firm’s subscriber base.

“We are confident that with our partnership with SES, we will be able to deliver content seamlessly to potential new customers all across the country,” he said.

Sky Cable is under media and entertainment organization ABS-CBN Corp.

ABS-CBN is primarily involved in TV and radio broadcasting as well as in the production of TV and radio programming for domestic and international audiences.