Advanced Television

Inside Satellite

Chris Forrester

Chris Forrester is one of the most experienced and highly regarded journalists in the field. His insight and analysis, particularly in the satellite and pay-TV arena, is highly prized. He has written for all the major business journals in the sector as well as several national newspapers.

Spacety Luxembourg signs MoU for space projects

Luxembourg is already well-known for space and satellite activity. As well as being the home for satellite giant SES Astra, it is also the formal domicile for SES’s arch-rival Intelsat (although Intelsat is actually run from Washington, DC). Now Spacety Luxembourg is hoping to emulate its established colleagues. Italy-based T4i and Spacety Luxembourg have signed […]

August 17, 2021

SES, Intelsat want August 19 ‘sealed’ hearing

Both SES and Intelsat are seeking an expedited hearing and court approval for a ‘sealed session’ for an upcoming hearing on August 19th as part of the pair’s litigation in the overall C-band dispute to be heard on a confidential basis. The two litigants stated to Intelsat’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy court: “These [August 19] motions […]

August 13, 2021

Pro7 takes ‘first look’ at John de Mol’s Talpa

ProSieben subsidiary Seven.One Entertainment Grp has signed a ‘first look’ agreement with John de Mol’s content development company Talpa Concepts. The news goes down well with analysts. A report from analysts at investment bank Exane/BNPP suggests that this is positive news for Pro7. “ProSieben thus secures exclusive first access rights to all formats developed or […]

August 12, 2021

Bezos-backed charity gives away millions for space

Blue Origin, the rocket business formed by Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos, is giving away $1 million (€854m) to each of 19 not-for-profit charities involved in space-related research. The funds have come directly as a result of the auction for a seat on the recent New Shephard space tourism rocket. The Blue Origin donation comes via […]

August 11, 2021

Virgin hikes space flight fee

Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic is delaying the start of its space tourism venture until Q3/2022. Virgin Galactic, following on from the success of its flight with Sir Richard aboard on July 11th, had originally said it would start carrying fee-paying tourists early in 2022. There is a planned test-flight in September. However, Virgin Galactic […]

August 9, 2021

Ergen breathes sigh of relief over S-band

Charlie Ergen’s EchoStar team managed to avoid a humiliating forced ending of its plans for a global S-band service when a tiny satellite successfully “brought into use” a set of International Telecom Union (ITU) frequencies ahead of an August 10th ITU deadline. This was the ‘third time lucky’ for EchoStar given that two previous attempts […]

August 6, 2021

SES shares up 9% on results optimism

SES saw an impressive jump in its share price on August 4th, up 8.96 per cent to €7.07 per share (and at one point hitting €7.13) helped by favourable analyst comments and a general air of optimism backed by solid results. Steve Collar told analysts that the decline in Video division revenues was easing (“flattening […]

August 5, 2021

More salvoes in SES vs Intelsat dispute

Another clutch of legal Motions were filed on August 2nd to Intelsat’s bankruptcy court by both parties in the bitter dispute between SES and Intelsat. Lawyers for Intelsat filed their Motion for the court to dismiss the SES demand for Summary Judgement in the SES claim, which – in essence – is demanding a 50/50 […]

August 4, 2021

SiriusXM prices $2.5bn of fresh debt

North American pay-radio operator SiriusXM has priced two batches of new Senior Notes. The borrowings will be used to redeem existing debt. The two amounts are: $1 billion of 3.125 per cent notes due for repayment in 2026, and $1.5 billion of 3.875 per cent notes due in 2031 “This represents an increase of $250 […]

August 3, 2021

India’s ISRO to work with ESA and Israel

India’s Space Research Organisation has confirmed it is in discussions with the European Space Agency (ESA) and Israel’s Space Agency (ISA) on cooperating and identifying projects where the organisations could work together. The Secretary in the Department of Space and ISRO Chairman K Sivan held virtual meetings with DG of ISA Avi Blasberger and DG […]

August 2, 2021