Export Development Canada is financing €140 million towards the overall costs of building Amazonas-5. Amazonas-5 is being built for Madrid-based satellite operator Hispasat by Canadian satellite-builder MacDonald, Dettweiler & Assoc (MDA). MDA owns Space Systems/Loral. This is the fourth SSL-supplied satellite for Hispasat. The order was placed with SS/L back in December 2014 and is […]
Brian Sullivan, CEO of Sky Deutschland, has quit and will leave in June. The supervisory board has named Carsten Schmidt, currently chief officer for sports, advertising sales and the Internet, as his successor. Sullivan has been CEO since 2010 and is credited with turning around its financial performance and subscriber numbers. He was previously with […]
Dublin-based Solaris Mobile is now formally operating as EchoStar Mobile Ltd. The plans that EchoStar might have for the S-band satellite (and matching terrestrial activity) frequencies are now clearer. “We are excited to take this symbolic step, which reflects the company’s ability to leverage the extensive experience of EchoStar in satellite services and mobile satellite […]
Greg Wyler, the original thinker behind O3b’s mission to capture the “other 3 billion” underserved or unconnected people of the planet, used the Washington Sat-2015 show to explain his new mission as head of OneWeb, and a plan to serve the other 3 billion via his OneWorld strategy with a constellation of 648 active LEO […]
Canada’s major satellite operator Telesat – the 4th largest satellite operator globally – has stumbled in its attempts to sell the business. Telesat is owned in a complex relationship between Loral Space & Communications and the Public Pension Investment Board of Canada (PSP). Loral owns 62.8 per cent of Telesat but only 32.7 per cent […]
Japan’s SkyPerfecTV, owned by J-Sat, is broadcasting two 4K/UltraHDTV channels. The broadcaster says it has invested some 200 million Yen (about $1.5m) to start up the channels, having asked Japan’s major production companies to help create unique 4K content for the services. The first channel mainly shows sport and music, along with factual documentaries, travelogues […]
An investment bank has taken a close look at prospects for German broadcasting giant ProSiebenSat.1 Media, and doesn’t much care for what it finds. The result is that Berenberg Bank is recommending its clients to “Sell” stock and gives Pro7/Sat1 a price target of just €34 against today’s typical €45.69 per share. The bank’s comprehensive […]
DirecTV’s senior management, including its CFO, are firmly behind the launch of 4K services, says Philip Goswitz, SVP/Video, Space & Communications, at the broadcaster. Moreover, he told delegates at the Satellite 2015 conference in Washington DC, that by 2020 he was confident that it would be broadcasting between 50-70 Ultra-HD channels. Goswitz said that three […]
Whereas in most of Europe, TV consumption is via satellite with a penetration rate of 35 per cent, in Spain, DTT takes the lion’s share with 11.56 million homes, albeit with a drop of 500,000 homes, down 8.6 per cent in 2014, according to a report from SES Astra. The study reveals
Telstra is set to acquire Globecast Australia, a provider of media services for broadcasters in Australasia. The acquisition is subject to ACCC review prior to completion. Telstra Group Managing Director Global Sales, Martijn Blanken, said the acquisition would deliver on Global Enterprise and Services’ strategy of developing deeper capabilities in media services for our customers […]