Photo: Eutelsat

[Via Satellite 03-31-2016] Eutelsat and France Télévisions have reached a new agreement for capacity on the Eutelsat 5 West A satellite, enabling France’s public broadcaster to upgrade all of France 3’s regional channels to HD on April 5. The 24 regional channels will be available for the 2 million homes receiving Fransat, Eutelsat’s free-to-view TV platform for French homes.

France Télévisions requires uninterrupted broadcasting of a line-up comprising five national channels — France 2, France 3, France 4, France 5, France Ô — and the 24 regional channels of France 3. Video, audio, data used for audio description and connected TV services will all benefit from improved quality as a result of the transition. The move is part of the complete switch of France’s Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) channels to MPEG4-HD in the night of April 4 to 5.