SES Pens New Deal With BBC World News to Extend HD Coverage

TV viewers across Western Europe will continue to be able to watch BBC World News, thanks to an extended deal with SES. BBC Global News delivers its HD news channel, BBC World News, free-to-air across Europe on SES’s Astra satellite at 19.2 degrees East.

“This deal with SES is really important as it allows us to reliably reach widespread audiences across Western Europe,” says Chris Davies, executive vice president of marketing and distribution for BBC Global News. “Amidst one of the biggest news stories of this generation, we’re seeing unprecedented demand for quality journalism. Since the beginning of the year, we’ve taken BBC World News from being available in 465 million homes worldwide to over half a billion homes, to provide a growing audience with trusted, accurate and impartial news.”

The total HD reach at Astra 19.2 degrees East has increased every year, rising from 65 million homes at year end 2015 to 88 million by year end 2019, a 34% growth in five years. The BBC World News channel, which has been available in HD through SES since 2015, is distributed via a multiplex operated and uplinked by SES from its Luxembourg headquarters.

“Since the COVID-19 health crisis started, we have heard from our customers that demand for linear TV, especially news programs, is on the rise and that reliable news producers such as the BBC are now more critical in providing accurate news and information to millions of viewers,” said Ferdinand Kayser, CEO at SES Video. “We’re pleased to continue working with the BBC and to help bring high-quality HD news to 88 million European households at a time when they need it most.”