Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL) today announced that over 700 hours of capacity has so far been booked on five of its satellites to support the intense media coverage in Rome that followed the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI and the election of Pope Francis. Demand for capacity accelerated when the College of Cardinals began deliberation on March 12 in anticipation of a signal of white smoke and the first declaration by the new Pope from St Peter’s Square.