European Commission questions Eutelsat

Michael Hedges August 22, 2008

The controversy over satellite operator Eutelsat cutting off a broadcaster beaming into China continues to simmer. EC Info Society and Media Commissioner Viviane Reding wants to know “what exactly is going on,” said a spokesperson. Suspicions of the suspicious are that Eutelsat was pressured to cut off Chinese-language NTDTV.

Eutelsat is a pay-to-play satellite broadcast supplier. It operates 24 satellites. Announcing first half 2008 financial results (July 31) the company said it planned to launch three to five more birds this year. Business is good. The company lifted its revenue projections to 6% between this year and 2011.

"It's because of our good performance and a market that is proving to be particularly robust, especially in emerging markets," said Deputy Managing Director Jean-Paul Brillaud to Reuters (July 31).

NTDTV (New Tang Dynasty TV) is a New York based Chinese language television and radio broadcaster. It is owned by the Falun Gong sect, which is critical of and unpopular with Chinese authorities.  Falun Gong also owns The Epoch Times and Sound of Hope radio station.

"We are all familiar with the stories that companies like Yahoo and Cisco are assisting the regime on their internet blockage,” said a NTDTV spokesperson at a Brussels press conference (August 21). “Now, it looks like Eutelsat is willing to follow suit."

Last June Eutelsat cut NTDTV’s transmission, citing a technical problem with transponders. Smelling a Chinese rat, Reporters sans Frontiers (RSF) and the International Federations of Journalists (IFJ) - two of the biggest and loudest press freedom advocates –- set about investigating. Et VOILA! RSF came up with a transcript of a telephone call in which an unnamed Eutelsat employee said CEO Giuliano Berretta made the decision to cut NTDTV because of pressure from Chinese authorities. Three Mandarin language radio stations, not related to NTDTV or the Falun Gong, were also cut.

The employee also mentioned an implied threat from the US government to cut its contract with Eutelsat. Et VOILA! At the end of July the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) – the agency overseeing US international broadcasting – dumped its Eutelsat contract for – easy, now – distribution of VOA and Radio Free Asia on AsiaSat, which is owned by the Chinese government.

Eutelsat maintains NTDTV was dropped because of transponder failure in June. Technical analysts maintain that four transponders did, in fact, fail. The company has steadfastly avoided further comment.

"We expect Eutelsat to stop hiding behind technical mumbo-jumbo and let this broadcaster operate freely," said IFJ General Secretary Aiden White in a statement (August 20).

Why, you might wonder, is Commissioner Reding getting into this olympic contest? One of Eutelsat’s significant shareholders is the French State financial institution Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations.  And, too, Commissioner Reding has just proposed a single pan-European satellite license (August 7) just in time for the SES-Astra – Eutelsat joint venture Solaris Mobile, expected to launch next year. Forty percent of the world satellite manufacturing and operations are European.