The German satellite pay-TV operator said it would use the transponder at the 19.2 degrees East orbital slot for transmission of additional HD programming. The new agreement brings Sky Deutschland’s total SES Astra satellite capacity lease to 11 transponders.

   “We currently broadcast 39 German-speaking HD channels on Astra, and we expect to increase this to more than 50 by the end of this year,” SES Astra Managing Director of Germany Wolfgang Elsässer said in a statement. “The German public broadcasters have announced plans to launch 10 HD channels in May 2012; furthermore, Super RTL has announced plans to start an HD channel on our platform HD plus. With this impressive growth, we further drive the digitalization in Germany and confirm SES as a leader in digital broadcasting and HD.”