German public broadcaster ARD has launched its main domestic television channel, Das Erste, on Eutelsat’s Hot Bird satellite system on 13 degrees East, as revealed exclusively in Interspace 705.

Since the beginning of this month, ARD is, as expected, available free-to-air within Deutsche Telekom’s digital package on transponder 155 (11.604GHz H, SR 27.500, FEC 5/6), using the channel ID ARD Das Erste. ARD follows the footsteps of fellow public broadcaster ZDF which has been available on Hot Bird since summer 1999 to reach remote areas such as holiday-makers and hotels in tourist regions, which aren’t covered by the Astra (19.2 degrees East) footprint. ZDF can be found on Hot Bird 5.