Direct 8, a new entertainment channel launched March 31, has concluded an agreement to broadcast its signal via Eutelsat Communications satellites, Eutelsat announced April 3.

Under the five-year contract, Eutelsat will broadcast Direct 8 using the Hot Bird neighborhood at 13 degrees East and the W3A satellite at 7 degrees East. The agreement will make Direct 8, owned by the Bolloré Group, available to 2.8 million homes in France, including subscribers to the TPS pay-TV platform, and more than 40 million satellite homes in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East equipped for direct-to-home (DTH) reception. The channel also will be available for redistribution by terrestrial networks.

“This launch of Direct 8 in two of our digital platforms underscores the attraction of our key broadcasting neighborhoods for new channels seeking to accelerate their audience by reaching into millions of DTH homes as well as homes connected to cable and community networks,” Olivier Millies-Lacroix, Eutelsat’s commercial director, said in a statement.