LUXEMBOURG -- SES announced it has extended its multi-year contracts with Austria’s largest media provider and public broadcaster ORF and its content distribution subsidiary ORS Group on SES’s prime TV neighbourhood at 19.2 degrees East.

The agreement covers the satellite transmission of ORF’s offerings, including the distribution of ORF 1 HD, ORF 2 HD, ORF III HD, ORF Sport plus HD, regional programmes from the Austrian states, as well as ORF’s portfolio of radio channels.

“Satellite remains the leading platform for TV reception in Austria and is therefore crucial for the distribution of ORF’s TV and radio programmes,” said Harald Kräuter, Director of Technology and Digitization at ORF. “With this contract extension, we are able to provide our audience with the highest quality programming via satellite as part of our distribution strategy, underscoring that linear TV will continue to be a key reception method for many years to come.”

“For many years, SES has been a key partner in the distribution of ORF’s linear programming and for numerous national and international channels carried by ORS,” said Michael Wagenhofer, Managing Director of ORS. “I am very pleased that we will continue this trusted partnership in the future.”

“The long-term extension of our agreement reaffirms the importance of satellite broadcasting for Austria,” said Norbert Hölzle, Global Head of Media at SES. “For a country with such diverse topography, satellite TV provides the ideal solution to reach every household with content in the highest image quality - something that is even more critical for a public broadcaster like ORF.”

With over 50% of Austrian households relying on satellite TV, SES’s satellites at 19.2 degrees East play a key role in directly delivering a diverse bouquet of TV channels to 2 million TV households, ensuring that viewers can enjoy prime content from broadcasters like ORF and ORS’s national and international partners for many years to come.