Indonesian school children that now have access to broadband through PSN and Newtec’s Dialog tech. Photo: Newtec

[Via Satellite 11-22-2016] Eutelsat Communications has unveiled the results of its new survey on TV reception modes and trends across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), which found that satellite in this region remains the backbone of digital TV infrastructure, reaching into 56.1 million homes. This represents more than 90 percent of the 61.1 million TV homes from Morocco to the Gulf States. Three out of four of the 3.4 million homes in 14 Arab countries that have adopted satellite over the last three years have preferred the 7/8 degrees west neighborhood that hosts Eutelsat and Nilesat satellites, according to the survey.

Eutelsat’s 7/8 degrees west neighborhood now reaches into 52.3 million homes in 14 Arab countries, up 2.6 million homes since 2014. At equal perimeter, there is a 7 percent growth in the six Arab countries surveyed in both 2014 and 2016 that represent 76 percent of TV homes in the region.

HD is also gaining traction in the region, with the number of HD-equipped homes crossing a threshold of 20 million, up from 14.4 million in 2014, and now accounting for 34 percent of TV homes in the region. This percentage is even higher within the 7/8 West audience at 46 percent. Meanwhile, 50 percent of respondents are aware of Ultra-HD and data reveals that 1.2 million Ultra-HD sets were sold by the end of 2015.