Fransat package on the Eutelsat 5.0°W. Satellite

Fransat package on the Eutelsat 5.0°W. Satellite,

It is a free satellite television package of the Eutelsat Group, 

created in June 2009 and started broadcasting via the Eutelsat 5 West A (formerly Atlantic Bird 3) and Eutelsat 5 West B satellites.

The package is a satellite alternative to terrestrial digital television in the White Zone, 

including 27 DTT channels.

It also provides access to optional pay-per-views such as Bis TV, beIn Sports or OCS, as well as the Connected TV service.

Its direct competitor is the TNT Sat of the Canal + group, which is broadcast on Astra 1.

The package has faced criticism for using conditional access to limit its offer to residents of the French capital.

This is in accordance with the rights and obligations granted by the channel's editors, 

which would conflict with the principle of free movement of people, goods and services in the European Union.

Package History

It has been possible since the 1990s to receive national analog terrestrial channels via satellite, 

prior to Fransat.

Especially to cover the white areas, thanks to the Telecom 2B satellite.

This is in accordance with Article 6 of Law No. 2007 309 of March 5, 2007 amending Article 96 of Law No. 96 via land, satellite or cable networks.

But only 95% of the population can be covered by land, and the intervention of satellite operators is necessary to cover the remaining 5%.

Thus, the Canal + group launched a TNT Sat display, including 18 DTT channels via the Astra 1 satellite at 19.2° East, on June 7, 2007.

On 8 April 2009, Eutelsat announced the June launch of its rival offering to Fransat, 

acquiring 18 DTT channels, including 4 HD channels (TF1, France 2, M6 and Arte) via the Atlantic Bird 3 (renamed Eutelsat 5) satellite. 

West A in 2012) located at 5°W.

Signals have been broadcast from June 19, 2009 (technical launch), and marketing was officially launched on June 22, 2009.

Meanwhile, Eutelsat continues to broadcast the six historical TV channels in analogue mode.

Fransat package on the Eutelsat 5.0°W. Satellite

As of October 28, 2009, the package included 24 regional editions of France 3, 

and as of December 14, 2009, NRJ Paris was integrated into the package.

In 2010, the package hosted several local or thematic channels Normandie TV in March.

Ma Chaîne Étudiante on April 7, TéléGrenoble Isère in June, Mirabelle TV in September, Vosges Télévision imagesplus in October, Télé Locale Provence in November and BFM Business in December.

Fransat has sought to position itself as the best satellite alternative to DTT in the mountains, with many local channels located in the mountain ranges.

And at the end of March 2010, the package launched a specific solution dedicated to receiving DTT in group housing: Fransat Pro.

On the occasion of the 2010 FIFA World Cup (June-July), the package aired for the first time, TF1 3D, which broadcasts five footballs matches in 3D, including the opening match and the final match.

The system was reactivated on May 28, 2011, 

for the 2010–11 UEFA Champions League Final between FC Barcelona and Manchester United.

After the TV channel Demain joined the package, on March 10, 2011, and on April 13, 

the six national stations of Radio France (France Inter, France Culture, France Musique, FIP, France Info and Mouv') also joined.

Fransat package on the Eutelsat 5.0°W. Satellite

On November 29, 2011, the AB3 satellite stopped broadcasting the seven historical channels in analogue.

And at the same time that the last region of France, the Languedoc-Roussillon, is all digital.

On 12 December 2012, the six new high definition DTT channels (HD1, L'Équipe 21, 6ter, 

Numéro 23, RMC Découverte and Chérie 25) were included in the satellite package.

In September 2014, Fransat announced the formation of the FreeTV Alliance with satellite operators Freesat (United Kingdom) and Tivù Sat (Italy), which it joined in October HD+ (Germany).

Their goal was to collaborate to give viewers the best possible service, for example using the popular technologies that would become the standards.

On October 1, La Chaîne Théâtres left the 8th package, and in December 2014 the package launched the first Fransat Ultra HD channel.

This was a demo channel for professionals but will allow broadcasts of events later, 

such as the Roland Garros Championship.

The channel broadcasts at a resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels, progressively at a rate of 50 images / sec, 

with a color depth of 10 bits.

As of December 16, 2014, a paid OCS package (OCS Max, OCS City, OCS Choc, OCS Géants) is available.

Then three channels switched to HD: NT1, TMC and NRJ 12 on May 19, 2015.

On June 25, the local channel Grand Lille TV joined the package, 

and as of July 1, 2015, the paid music channel Melody became available as an option.

Since December 1, 2015, Fransat has broadcast 25 free DTT channels in HD. 

This broadcast was the national shift to DTT HD announced by the government and planned for the night of April 4-5, 2016.

On March 1, 2016, the Fransat HD satellite package included LCI, the free 26th channel DTT certified by CSA, in its offer.

LCI was also broadcast on channel 26 in MPEG-4 format but in SD, the broadcast quality is lower than HD.

On 5 April 2016, Fransat became the first free satellite operator to broadcast 24 regional channels of France 3 in MPEG-4 HD.

On April 26, 2016, Fransat stopped broadcasting free DTT channels in SD technology,

 and 25 of the 26 DTT channels were broadcast in HD.

France Info became the 27th DTT broadcasting in standard definition on September 1, 2016, at the same time; France Ô lost the HD broadcast signal.

On August 11, 2017, France received 4 SFR Sport channels (SFR Sport 1, 

SFR Sport 2, SFR Sport 3 and SFR Sport 5).

Fransat then welcomed the SFR Sport 4K, on ​​November 29, 2017, thus completing the SFR Sport option, which was renamed the 2018 RMC Sport.

Then the national TV channels of the French free-to-air station DTT were transferred to the Eutelsat 5 West B satellite in January 2020.

After capacity problems with the new Eutelsat 5 West B satellite, Fransat announced that it had to abandon the marketing of its optional offerings: 

sports (BeIn Sports), cinema (OCS), music (Melody) and youth (Canal G, Tigi, Boeing, Boomerang and Tonami, as of February 6. 2020.

Therefore, it is no longer possible to subscribe to it since this date, 

and people who have already subscribed to these options will be able to continue their programs until May 31, 2020, 

which is the end date of broadcasting the channels on the satellite.

List of channels as of 06/14/2021

FRANSAT Connect

It is an interactive portal connected to the HbbTV format, a new service presented by FRANSAT, 

during IBC in September 2013, an international exhibition dedicated to audiovisual media.

This service provides access to the +10 and -7 days program guide, access to follow TV and Video on Demand (VOD) from different channels, 

listen to web radio and get various information (weather, traffic information).

Where the application allows to control this environment from smartphones and tablets, 

compatible with Android and iOS.

You can receive DTT everywhere with FRANSAT, in any remote area with poor TV reception.

The FRANSAT satellite TV solution allows you to enjoy your programming in complete freedom without geographical restrictions.

You may like: ART Pacage on NileSat 7.0ْ W