There may still be questions over a less than perfect demonstration flight of the SpaceX Falcon-9 rocket on Sept 29 but nevertheless SES has shipped its huge SES-8 satellite to Florida in readiness for its launch. SES-8 was transported by truck from its manufacturing site at Orbital Sciences in Dulles, Virginia, to SpaceX’s processing site […]
Satellite operators SES and Eutelsat are working together to ensure a smooth transition of operations on frequencies at 28.5°E following the Tribunal decision that concluded the first phase of arbitration in September 2013 and a preliminary injunction which gives SES the rights to the disputed frequencies. As of October 4th, SES is operating and Eutelsat […]
Intelsat, the world’s largest satellite operator, says that its Q3 revenues will be hit by the slowdown in military and other ‘government’ spending. Speaking at the Deutsche Bank investors conference, Intelsat CEO Dave McGlade said the normal end-of-year buying burst from the US government’s Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) will not happen this year. McGlade […]
Analysis by eMarketer of PricewaterhouseCoopers research suggests that those who watch TV content place a premium on the ability to watch original programming. The firm notes that in a June 2013 PwC survey, 63 per cent of US Internet users said that an offer of original content was at least somewhat important in influencing their […]
Arabsat has completed the purchase of Greek satellite operator HellasSat. A number of Arabsat executives have joined the HellasSat board of directors. HellasSat was controlled by Greek telephone company OTE. Arabsat says that it has earmarked a $700 million investment programme for two new satellites for HellasSat. The $208 million deal was announced in February […]
The long-awaited South African ‘Freevision’ digital TV platform has launched on satellite. The launch replaces a similar – but failed – service called ‘Vivid’. Vivid was intended to be made available to the wider public but it later fulfilled the service of broadcasting television channels to rural areas that could not ordinarily receive a television signal. […]
Hundreds of illegal satellite dishes were destroyed over the weekend in the Iranian city of Shiraz when a government army tank crushed them to destruction. Despite the threat of confiscation, however, it is estimated that between 50-70 per cent of Iranian households own dishes, and thereby side-stepping the local rules forbidden access to foreign medi […]
A Spanish newspaper, in an Editorial, is extremely critical of Eutelsat’s dealings with Madrid-based Hispasat and in particular Eutelsat’s successful bid for the SatMex company in Mexico which they allege was carried out to the detriment of Hispasat – in which Eutelsat is also a shareholder. The article in El Confidencial accuses Eutelsat of “double […]
Mike White, DirecTV’s chairman and CEO, told the Goldman Sachs Communacopia media conference that consolidation between the USA’s two giant DTH players would benefit the consumer and yet still be competitive, but the regulatory environment remained unclear and “very challenging”. White told conference delegates that any deal-makers would need to start educating regulators that there […]
In a move that has enabled the company to effectively double its broadcast capacity in the region, ViewSat, a global provider of broadcast and transmission services for television and radio channels, has announced the launch of its second Middle East and North Africa (MENA) satellite transponder in the 7/8 degrees West orbital neighbourhood. The company […]