Luxembourg-based satellite TV provider M7 Group is to launch a new pay-TV platform in Hungary called AustriaSat Magyarország.
AustriaSat Magyarország, which is owned by M7’s Austrian subsidiary M70 Group Kft, will offer 55 Hungarian public and…
Luxembourg-based satellite TV provider M7 Group is to launch a new pay-TV platform in Hungary called AustriaSat Magyarország.
AustriaSat Magyarország, which is owned by M7’s Austrian subsidiary M70 Group Kft, will offer 55 Hungarian public and private TV channels, 12 of which will be in HD.
M7 has signed a long-term contract with satellite operator Eutelsat for two 33 MHz transponders on the Eutelsat-9A bird to broadcast the new platform.
The formation of AustriaSat Magyarország is part of M7’s central European expansion plan and follows the establishment of pay-TV platforms in Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia in the past few years.
Commenting on the new service, Jaromír Glisník, member of the board of M7 Group, said: “With the launch of AustriaSat Magyarország at the 9E orbital position, we want all of our Hungarian customers to enjoy an easy and entertaining TV experience via a state of the art service and personal customer care.
“We are confident that this new platform will follow the same path of development as AustriaSat in Austria and Skylink in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.”
Established in October 2009 in Luxembourg, M7’s pay-TV ventures include CanalDigitaal and Online.nl in the Netherlands, TV Vlaanderen in Flanders and TéléSAT in French speaking Belgium and Luxembourg, as well as its assets in Central Europe. The group now has more than three million viewers.
The leasing agreement with Eutelsat is notable as M7 previously had a long standing relationship with Luxembourg-based SES, utilising the latter’s Astra satellites for its services.
M7 is owned by private equity firms Providence Equity Partners and Airbridge Investment. Last August, rumours emerged that M7 was looking to undertake a €355m recapitalisation to refinance its debt and provide a special dividend to its private equity owners. Neither M7 nor Providence were available to comment on the reports.
