SES announced a partnership with Viasat on Friday to broadcast Viasat Ultra HD, the latter's first Ultra High Definition (HD) channel.
Viasat Ultra HD will be launched after the summer in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland via SES-5, enabling Viasat customers with the company's new Ultra HD set top box and Ultra HD screen to experience sports in more detail. The world's first Ultra HD sports channel via satellite will broadcast a number of sport events, including selected live Champions League matches, and other content from MTG's portfolio, specially produced in Ultra HD.
The addition of Viasat Ultra HD will bring SES' Ultra HD channels, including test channels and regional versions, up to 24, representing 46% of all channels worldwide broadcast in this way through satellite. SES carries more than 2,300 HD channels, transmitting 27% of all HD/Ultra HD satellite channels across the globe.
"Viasat has been relying on SES services to broadcast its approximately 230 channels for more than 20 years," explained Ferdinand Kayser, Chief Commercial Officer at SES. "As sports have always been predicted to be a key driver for Ultra HD, we are very pleased to take this important step together with Viasat to drive the next generation viewing experience forward. With more and more Ultra HD channels expected in the future, satellite will remain the optimal infrastructure to deliver this new and substantially improved viewing experience."
In January 2016, SES announced the fourth addition to its Ultra HD channel network, whilst earlier this month, the satellite company broadcast Le Corsaire ballet in Ultra HD from the Vienna State Opera via European culture channel ARTE.
Photo by SES
