The DTH market in Latin America continues to serve as a high growth area for operators looking to tap promising emerging markets.
Indeed, the president of Brazilian regulator Anatel was cited telling journalists on 14 February that he expected the…
The DTH market in Latin America continues to serve as a high growth area for operators looking to tap promising emerging markets.
Indeed, the president of Brazilian regulator Anatel was cited telling journalists on 14 February that he expected the number of pay-TV subscribers in Brazil to double to 25 million households in the next five years.
Joao Rezende, who was appointed to the role last November, reportedly said DTH take-up in the country showed no sign of letting up, with the number of subscribers soaring 30.4% in 2011 to reach 12.74 million homes. In fact, Anatel has received 600 applications from aspiring pay-TV operators of all sizes to join the market, he reportedly added.
Whereas Brazil has arguably the largest and most developed DTH sector in Latin America, operators are increasingly looking to the whole region for future growth opportunities.
On 15 February, Luxembourg-based satellite operator SES announced plans to shift its AMC-3 spacecraft from 87W to 67W, where it will cover Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. According to SES, from this new position the satellite will offer an extensive Ku-band range, with improved viewing angles for covering the Americas and the Caribbean. The Lockheed Martin-built bird also holds C-band transponders.
AMC-3, which was launched in 1997 and has enough fuel to operate until 2017, was replaced at 87W by the SES-2 bird that was launched on 22 September 2011.
At its new position, AMC-3 will be co-located with SES’ AMC-4 satellite, which has been covering Latin America and the Caribbean since 2010. According to the operator, the two satellites at 67W will offer 28 Ku-band transponders between them, once AMC-3 arrives on 24 February 2012.
The increased Latin America focus is part of SES’s stated strategy to develop its presence in emerging markets. Detailing other recent developments in the region during its full-year 2011 results on 17 February 2012, SES detailed how Argentinean cable network services provider TIBA has contracted additional capacity on its SES-6 satellite that will be launched in 2013 for HD content. Sports network ESPN Brazil has also recently took additional capacity from SES for regional HD distribution, and regional broadband provider AxeSat signed a deal for two transponders on AMC-4 to support Latin American and Caribbean corporate customers.
“2012 is an important year in the ongoing transformation of SES,” said Bausch in a statement accompanying the 2011 full-year results.
“We are developing our presence in emerging markets, while maintaining our strong position in the more mature European and North American markets.”
SES reported full year 2011 revenue flat at €1.73bn, with EBITDA down 1.7% to €1.27bn.
The group blamed the relatively flat results on the adverse evolution of the US dollar against the euro, and an exceptional €14.8m loss owing to its recent reorganisation.
Launch delays and solar-array circuit failures also weighed down on the results.
Bausch said he was confident about the outlook for 2012, but said the company was bracing itself for “the exceptional impact of the analogue TV switch-off in Germany” on 30 April.
“When eliminating the impact of this, we foresee an underlying three year revenue CAGR (2012-2014) of approximately 7.5%,” he said.
“On a recurring basis this is expected to be approximately 4.5%. This fully reflects the launch delays and satellite health issues. We look to the future with confidence.”
