[Satellite TODAY 03-22-11] Indian broadcaster Sun TV signed a multi-year, multi-transponder lease with Intelsat for C-band capacity on the IS-17 satellite located at the 66 degrees East orbital location, the operator announced March 21.
    Sun TV will migrate its 20 channels to IS-17 and use the capacity to expand its SD and HD programming distribution to viewers across India and the surrounding regions. IS-17 was launched in November and entered service in January to provide C- and Ku-band capacity across Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Russia.
    "The IS-17’s multi-continental coverage provides us with a reliable and resilient distribution platform from which to serve our existing market and also provides access to all of our potential distribution partners across the region. The satellite is ideally suited to support the introduction of new high-definition programming and ensures service continuity for many years to come," Sun TV CTO Sivanesh Kannan, CTO of Sun TV said in a statement.