Satellite Deals Of The Day

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ITV inked a $18.3 million deal to acquire Sky Ventures‘ 49.5-percent share in multichannel operation Granada Sky Broadcasting (GSB). The acquisition also signals the launch of ITV3, replacing GSB’s channel Plus. ITV3 made its U.K. debut earlier this week on digital terrestrial television, digital cable and digital satellite. It will be broadcast in around 13 million homes.
ITV3 will showcase contemporary British drama from the extensive ITV program library with titles including “Prime Suspect” and “Inspector Morse” in addition to films and U.S.-acquired series.

SES Astra announced a deal that will see new Czech parliament channel 24. The deal was signed with Czech media company Region Media, based in Olomouc, Czech Republic, and the channel will be delivered via Astra 19.2 degrees East (ASTRA 2C, transponder 57), currently reaching more than 94 million cable and direct-to-home households in 30 European countries. Live broadcasts from the parliament will begin Nov. 17.
The Boeing Co. [BA] awarded a two-year contract to Harris Corp. [HRS] that calls for Harris to supply Boeing with primary spot-beam communications antennas for the next three DirecTV satellites Boeing is building. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Wilton, Conn.-based PanAmSat Corporation [SPOT] today signed a transponder agreement with NFL Network to carry the channel’s high-definition transmissions of National Football League games and football-related programming. Under terms of the agreement, NFL Network will use the power of Galaxy 13 to support both its HD and standard-definition programming.