Eutelsat will keep distributing Algerian television channels to 70 million homes across the Middle East and North Africa after renewing its partnership with Télédiffusion d'Algérie (TDA), Algeria's national broadcasting network operator.

The announcement, made on 7 October 2026, extends a longstanding commercial relationship between the French satellite operator and Algeria's state broadcaster. Under the renewed agreement, TDA continues to lease capacity on Eutelsat 7 West A, the satellite stationed at the 7/8° West orbital position that serves as MENA's leading neighbourhood for direct-to-home satellite television.

Why does 7/8° West matter?

The orbital slot is the reference position for satellite TV in the region. It aggregates major public and private broadcasters alongside a portfolio of Arabic and international channels, which gives it the scale that keeps viewers pointing their dishes at the same cluster of frequencies. For Algeria specifically, the position is the distribution backbone that carries national channels to audiences both at home and across the wider MENA footprint.

That reach — 70 million homes — is the commercial core of the deal. For a national broadcaster like TDA, capacity at 7/8° West is not easily replaced: the slot's installed base of dishes across the region means a channel carried there is effectively available to the entire Arabic-speaking satellite audience.

What does the renewal change?

In practical terms, nothing shifts for viewers. The agreement secures continuity of service rather than launching new capacity or channels. Its significance is contractual: it locks in TDA's access to the region's dominant orbital neighbourhood for the long term, removing any uncertainty about where Algerian public television will sit on the MENA dial.

TDA holds a singular position in the Algerian market. As the single broadcaster in the country, it carries central responsibility for delivering the nation's television channels to domestic viewers and to Algerian and Arabic-speaking audiences across the region. Satellite distribution at 7/8° West is the mechanism through which that mandate extends beyond Algeria's borders.

Sandy Saade, Sales Director MENA at Eutelsat, framed the renewal as the product of a durable relationship. "TDA is a strategic partner for Eutelsat in Algeria, and this renewal reflects the strength of a relationship built over many years," Saade said. "We are proud to keep supporting the distribution of Algerian television to audiences across MENA from 7/8° West, the region's reference position for satellite TV."

What comes next?

Neither party disclosed the financial terms or the duration of the renewed contract, so the value of the capacity commitment remains unknown. What the deal does confirm is Eutelsat's continued grip on the MENA broadcast neighbourhood at 7/8° West, and TDA's dependence on that position for regional reach — an arrangement that now runs on into the years ahead on the strength of the partnership both companies describe as strategic.