Conn. Co. Launching Satellite for HDTV

[Gregg Lengling]

STAMFORD, Conn. - A Connecticut company is launching a satellite this week as a platform for distributing high definition television programs in the United States.



PanAmSat Corp., based in Wilton, Conn., on Wednesday will launch Galaxy 13/Horizons-1, which will be home to the first grouping, or neighborhood, of high definition programs in the United States on one satellite, company officials said.


Creating the neighborhood will encourage cable systems to set aside more capacity for high definition programing, said Tom Watts, a satellite analyst with SG Cowen.


The satellite would serve content providers who could ultimately provide high definition television programs to as many as 50 million households, company officials said.


The company, which owns 25 satellites, hopes to tap into what is expected to be a rapid growth in high definition television, which enhances picture resolution.


Watts said it's important to have a neighborhood of high definition providers so that a cable operator can use one dish to pull all the programs down. But the key question is how fast demand will ramp up to fill the satellite with programming.


PanAmSat said its customers include HBO, Turner Broadcasting and Charter Communications. The satellite is expected to begin operating by January.


Shares of PanAmSat rose 78 cents, or 5.6 percent, to close at $14.72 Monday on the Nasdaq Stock Market.