YahLive in HD Partnership with MBC Group

SES (Paris:SESG) (LuxX:SESG) announced today that the United Arab Emirates company YahLive, in which SES is a shareholder, closed a long-term agreement with the Dubai-based free-to-air satellite broadcaster MBC Group to broadcast its large portfolio of High Definition (HD) channels. With this strategic partnership, which was announced in Dubai today, viewers of YahLive can watch seven top rated MBC Group channels in HD across the Middle East and North Africa: MBC 1, MBC 2, MBC 4, MBC Action, MBC Drama, MBC MAX and Al Arabiya News Channel.

MBC Group is a leading private free-to-air satellite broadcasting company for the Arab World. YahLive is a partnership of SES with Yahsat, the United Arab Emirates-based satellite communications company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mubadala Development company. YahLive broadcasts from the orbital position 52.5 degrees East. Viewers in the Middle East and in North Africa seeking to receive MBC Group`s HD bouquet from this position need to point their satellite dish to it.

Sam Barnett, CEO of MBC Group, said: “We are pleased to announce this partnership with YahLive. YahLive is building a proposition based on High Definition (HD) television and aims to attract audiences from across the region. Our channels are ‘required viewing’ for many in the Middle East and the ability to watch them in HD is becoming increasingly attractive. This deal should therefore create a strong partnership.”

Mohamed Youssif, CEO of YahLive, said: “Our partnership with MBC Group is another key milestone in the evolution of YahLive and an excellent example of our strategic vision to become the HD hotspot for the region and beyond. Ensuring that our customers have access to the number one channels and programmes is of highest importance to us, and it is clear that MBC Group`s offering is amongst the most popular in the region.”

SES is a leader in HD internationally, with a total of more than 1,000 HD channels on its satellites worldwide and with a specific know-how in the segment, for instance through its affiliate HD PLUS which operates a technical platform for commercial broadcasters offering HD channels in Germany.

About SES

SES is a world-leading satellite operator with a fleet of 49 geostationary satellites. The company provides satellite communications services to broadcasters, content and internet service providers, mobile and fixed network operators and business and governmental organisations worldwide.

SES stands for long-lasting business relationships, high-quality service and excellence in the broadcasting industry. The culturally diverse regional teams of SES are located around the globe and work closely with customers to meet their specific satellite bandwidth and service requirements.

SES (Paris:SESG) (LuxX:SESG) holds participations in Ciel in Canada and QuetzSat in Mexico, as well as a strategic participation in satellite infrastructure start-up O3b Networks. Further information under: www.ses.com .

About MBC Group

MBC Group is the first private free-to-air satellite broadcasting company in the Arab World which was launched in London in 1991 and later moved to its headquarters in Dubai in 2002. Over the past 20 years, MBC Group has grown to become a well-established media group that enriches people’s lives through information, interaction and entertainment. Based in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, MBC Group includes 10 television channels: MBC1 (general family entertainment), MBC2 and MBC MAX (24-hour movies), MBC3 (children’s entertainment), MBC4 (entertainment for new Arab women), MBC Action (action series and movies), MBC Persia (24-hour movie channel dubbed in Farsi) , Al Arabiya (the 24-hour Arabic language news channel); Wanasah (24-hour Arabic music channel) and MBC DRAMA coinciding with the Group’s 20th anniversary, and offers 24/7 Arabic Drama; the Group also includes two radio stations: MBC FM (Gulf music), and Panorama FM (contemporary Arabic hit music); as well as O3 productions, a specialized documentary production unit. It has also several online platforms: www.mbc.net , www.alarabiya.net and www.shahid.net , the first free VOD portal in the Arab world. Further information under: www.mbc.net .

About YahLive

YahLive is a partnership between Al Yah Satellite Communications Company, Yahsat, and SES, a global satellite operator. Launched in 2011, YahLive offers state of the art broadcasting, newsgathering, distribution and contribution feed capacities, bringing about a new era of high-definition (HD) and 3D TV services, from the Y1A satellite positioned at 52.5 degrees East, covering the Middle East, Africa and West Asia. YahLive offers broadcasters access to extensive satellite capacity to enable the latest innovations in the broadcast world, such as HD and interactive TV. Through YahLive broadcasters can introduce new HD or interactive channels without worrying about capacity constraints, and also extend their audience reach to new regions with YahLive’s wide-reaching coverage. Further information: http://www.yahsat.ae/SitePages/yahlive.aspx .

Contact:

SES
Markus Payer
+352 710 725 500
markus.payer@ses.com
or
YahLive
Asala Faddah
+971 2 447 28 05
asala.faddah@hillandknowlton.com
or
MBC Group
Ruba Al Ayed
+971 56 6038358
ruba.alayed@mbc.net