PARIS – Elettronica Industriale, a subsidiary of the Italian group Mediaset, has signed a multi-year capacity agreement with Eutelsat to accelerate its transition to High Definition (HD).

Thanks to this contract, the three flagship channels of the Mediaset Group (Canale 5, Italia 1 and Rete 4) will be broadcast simultaneously in SD and HD on the free tivùsat television package operating from HOTBIRD, Eutelsat’s satellite hotspot for the Italian market.

Located at 13° East, the HOTBIRD position is a reference video neighbourhood in Italy, particularly suited to DTH. Out of a thousand channels being broadcast from this position, more than 300 are in HD.