Broadpeak raises €10m from Eutelsat
July 3, 2019
By Chris Forrester
Eutelsat Communications has announced a €10 million investment – circa 20 per cent – in Broadpeak, an industry specialist in video content delivery solutions.
Broadpeak is a supplier of CDN (Content Delivery Network) technologies optimising the delivery of video content over terrestrial and satellite networks to provide end-users with best-in-class viewing quality on all their devices. Eutelsat’s investment in Broadpeak is a further step in its strategy to integrate satellite into the Internet Protocol (IP) ecosystem, following the launch in September 2018 of Eutelsat CIRRUS, its hybrid satellite-OTT solution giving satellite TV channels and operators the ability to offer a flexible and homogeneous multi-screen consumer experience.
Eutelsat and Broadpeak will pool their technological resources to expand their respective portfolios of services for telecom operators, media groups and content owners by offering them turnkey video delivery solutions enabling them to respond to the rising demand for video content on all networks. They will also work together on projects aimed at integrating satellite technology into the 5G generation of mobile networks.
Eutelsat’s investment, in the form of shares and convertible bonds, represents a consideration of circa 10 million euros.
Jean-Hubert Lenotte, Chief Strategy and Resources Officer at Eutelsat, commented: “We are delighted to partner with Broadpeak with whom we have been working since 2015. This association with a recognised and innovative leader in video content delivery solutions will enable us to expand our offer in this area. Following the launch of Eutelsat CIRRUS last September, this investment reflects our strategy to accelerate the integration of IP and satellite technologies by expanding the portfolio of technological solutions available to our broadcast customers to distribute content to viewers across multiple channels.”
Jacques Le Mancq, co-founder and Chairman, added: “This investment by Eutelsat will enable us to strengthen our team and finance the strong growth of our business. We are very excited to develop our partnership with Eutelsat, with whom we will build next-generation services to deliver, optimise and monetize high-quality video experiences for end-users, whether at home or on the move.”
Meanwhile, Rodolphe Belmer, CEO at Eutelsat, in an interview in French financial newspaper Les Echos, has reiterated previous comments that his key objective is to see a return of Video division revenue growth in the near-term and he sees stable Video revenues over the longer term.
One of his points was the recent launch of ‘Cirrus’, an OTT platform which he says had been well received by the market, and has 2 customers signed up.
A note from analysts at investment bank Exane/BNPP says that it understands that Eutelsat is in discussions with 11 other potential clients for Cirrus. The bank suggests that each of these clients could generate anything between €500,000-€1 million per client for Eutelsat.
“Belmer continues to see strong demand for satellite video capacity over Africa and claims his Video business is to be more resilient than competitors. We note that Eutelsat generates over half of its revenues from low infrastructure countries, especially in Africa,” states the bank.