The BBC has secured a third transponder (#38) from Astra at 28.2 degrees East. The contract, which is for five years, will allow the broadcaster to introduce its multiple screen options for the upcoming Wimbledon tennis championships.

Following on from the tennis, the BBC intends to offer a similar multi-screen service for the British Open Golf in July, which will consist of five viewer options, including the ‘director’s cut’ main feed, followed by three dedicated screens for the 16th, 17th and 18th holes plus a channel showing continuously updated highlights. Viewers will also get a leader board of statistics.

In a separate development, Poland’s Telewizja Familijna (TF) has contracted an analogue transponder from Astra at 19.2 degrees East for the free-to-air distribution of TV Puls throughout Europe. TV Puls, which was launched in March, is supplied with programming by TF, itself a commercial TV station that has been present in the Polish marketplace for a number of years. The two broadcasters include the Roman Catholic Church (in the shape of the Franciscan Order) among their backers.