Eutelsat Looks to Broadband and 3D for Growth

Eutelsat, the French satellite operator, is pushing into new markets such as broadband internet services and 3D television in order to boost revenue as the television market stagnates.

“Normal TV has a limit,” Giuliano Berretta, chief executive of the company, told the Financial Times. “The rate of increase in TV revenues slowed this year. We can’t have double-digit growth unless we can grow the broadband business and a new type of TV consumption.”

Eutelsat, which provides satellite connections for TV companies such as Sky Italia, has seen revenue growth in its main television business slow from double-digit increases to just more than 5 per cent growth in the first nine months of its current fiscal year.

The company has launched a number of pilot projects in 3D TV, in an effort to stimulate development of this market. In July, for example, the company will be sending a 3D broadcast of a concert by French singer Julien Clerc in La Rochelle to several locations around France. The company also worked with Sky Italia to broadcast a basketball game shot in 3D.

3D technology is gaining popularity in the movie industry with a number of recent films, such as Monsters vs Aliens, Coraline, and James Cameron’s forthcoming Avatar, all made in 3D. In TV, the technology is in its infancy, although BSkyB is making investments in it, and has predicted that a 3D TV service could be rolled out within the next two to three years.

Mr Berretta is determined for Eutelsat to be at the forefront of the technology as it develops. “3D is a real revolution. We are creating a specialisation in shooting and transmitting it,” Mr Berretta said.

By Maija Palmer, The Financial Times