[Satellite TODAY 12-27-10] German public broadcaster ARD signed capacity lease agreements with Eutelsat and SES Astra to bring the Das Erste channel to German soldiers serving in Afghanistan, the operators announced Dec. 23.
    Das Erste will be available on the SES World Skies NSS-12 satellite, positioned at 57 degrees East. Eutelsat will broadcast the Das Erste signal from its Hot Bird orbital position, which also reaches Afghanistan with German public broadcaster ZDF.
   “We are particularly pleased that in the interests of German soldiers we could offer such a quick and easy solution for the delivery of the TV signal in Afghanistan. Thanks to our worldwide fleet of 44 satellites, we were able to react flexibly to the particular situation,” Astra Germany Managing Director Wolfgang Elsaesser said in a statement.