[Satellite Today 04-02-09] German pay-TV operator Premiere signed a deal with SES Astra to lease one-and-a-half additional transponders at Astra’s orbital position 19.2 degrees East in an effort to increase Premiere’s high-definition (HD) offering to subscribers, Premiere announced April 1.
    According to recent market research studies conducted on behalf of SES Astra, 219,000 HDTV receivers were sold in Germany in 2008, with 80 percent of these being satellite receivers. In total, 530,000 HDTV receivers have been sold since the introduction of HD.
    Premiere launched its HD services on Astra in 2005 and currently broadcasts two HD channels.