ASTRA Reaches Over 91 Million European Homes.

Business/Technology Editors

BETZDORF, Luxembourg--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 20, 2002

The ASTRA European Satellite Monitors, undertaken by leading research institutes, show that during 2001, 3.8 million more homes joined the growing audience for services on ASTRA. At the end of 2001, 91.3 million European homes received ASTRA; that's 43.4% of all the TV homes in Europe.

Growth in direct-to-home reception (DTH/SMATV) was particularly strong. An extra 2.7 million homes increased the total number of ASTRA DTH/SMATV homes in Europe to 33.7 million. This 8.8% increase pushed ASTRA's leading market coverage to 82.9% of the total European DTH/SMATV market. The overall European DTH/SMATV satellite market grew by 7%.

The number of cable homes receiving services on ASTRA grew by 1.1 million (+1.9%) to 57.7 million in Europe.

ASTRA experienced growth in audience reach for both the 19.2(Degree) East and the 28.2(Degree) East orbital positions. 910,000 DTH/SMATV homes were added at 19.2(Degree) East, bringing the total number to 27.2 million. At 28.2(degree) East an extra 1.8 million homes brought the total number of DTH/SMATV homes able to receive the digital services on ASTRA in the UK and Ireland to 6.5 million homes.

The growing choice of informative and entertaining digital TV and radio services propelled ASTRA growth in the digital satellite sector (DSTV) right across Europe. The total number of ASTRA DSTV homes grew by 3.9 million to reach 14 million European homes. This remarkable 39% increase during the year strengthened ASTRA's leading market share to 83% of the overall European DSTV market; up from 79% in 2000.

23.5 million European TV homes (11.2%) now receive digital services: 1.3 million terrestrial, 5.3 million cable and 16.9 million satellite. With 71.8% of the digital market, satellite is the most popular and the most successful digital reception method in Europe.

Europe's Internet audience shows an increasing interest in broadband access. At year-end 2001 more than 5 million online homes used broadband Internet infrastructures. ASTRA is in a unique position to serve this market. ASTRA has the bandwidth and technical capabilities to deliver media-rich content at high speed and, with the same dish used for digital TV and radio reception, consumers can easily receive IP content on their PC.

Already 41.6% (14 million) of all ASTRA DTH/SMATV homes receive digital services. They have significantly higher PC ownership and online connection rates than other TV households.

62.3% of ASTRA DSTV homes own a PC compared to 45.1% of all TV homes. 46.5% of ASTRA digital homes are Online compared to 30.8% within average TV homes. 12.4% of ASTRA digital homes even use a PC card to receive TV programmes on their PC. With such strong interest in new technology and media, ASTRA digital households are a solid foundation for the successful rollout of satellite broadband PC and online services right across Europe.

The ASTRA Satellite Monitor

SES ASTRA has a dedicated market research team that undertakes comprehensive surveys and market analyses, which are shared with clients and business partners in Europe.

The Satellite Monitors commissioned by SES ASTRA continuously measure the development of the reception market for broadcast and broadband content. They are conducted in 30 European countries and investigate reception modes among 210 million TV homes. The Monitors have set a benchmark for the whole satellite industry.

Conducted by leading market research institutes in Europe and using harmonized and acknowledged research methodologies, these surveys have been awarded quality stamps by independent research authorities:

The French Satellite Monitor, undertaken by Institut Francaise de Demoscopie, was audited and approved by the Scientific Committee of CESP (Centre d'Etudes des Supports de Publicite). In Germany, the survey methodology of the Satellite Monitor conducted by NFO Infratest was approved by the ZAW (Zentralverband der deutschen Werbewirtschaft). The Satellite Monitor in Italy conducted by GfK-asm was audited by CESP in cooperation with the statistical faculty of the University of Rome "La Sapienza". In November 2001 the audit committee approved the high quality of the methodology and the findings of the survey. In the UK, the Satellite Monitor conducted by NFO BJM was audited and approved by the IPA Appraisals committee (Institute of Practitioners in Advertising). The most recent audit was in Poland where, following a comprehensive audit procedure, the CESP in cooperation with the Polish Academy of Sciences endorsed the quality of the GfK Satellite Monitor.