SES Astra has teamed up with Yahsat to create YahLive, a new company targeted to DTH markets in the Middle East, North Africa and South West Asia, the companies announced April 20.
    YahLive will offer DTH television capacity and services to free-to-air and pay-TV broadcasters in more than two dozen countries. It will own and commercialize 23 BSS-transponders on the Yahsat 1A satellite to be positioned at the 52.5 degrees East orbital position, operating in the Ku-band frequency.
    The satellite, procured from a consortium of EADS Astrium and Thales Alenia Space, is currently under construction and is scheduled to be launched by the fourth quarter of 2010.
    “This partnership will establish a major business hub for SES Astra in the Middle East, and will add a new dimension to the existing strong regional presence of SES through the satellite operator SES New Skies and the system integrator ND SatCom. The region is a market with significant growth potential as the fill rate of the Ku-band capacity is estimated at 90 percent, while demand is expected to grow faster than supply,” said Ferdinand Kayser, CEO of SES Astra, in a statement.