[09-11-07 – Satellite Today] SES Astra is bringing its interactive TV service Blucom to the Middle East, the company announced September 11. SES has signed a contract with MBC, a free-to-air multi-channel media group in the Middle East and North Africa region, which will use Blucom for voting, greeting, downloading and other enhanced TV-applications for its flagship channel MBC1, its news channel Al Arabiya, and its Saudi Arabian radio channel MBC FM.

The roll-out of the service will start next month and will be technically implemented by APS ASTRA Platform Services and its affiliated company 5Cast, both based in Munich, Germany.