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.

SES “weak quarter expected”

On July 26th SES will unveil its latest quarter of numbers (Q2) and a forecast from analysts at investment bank Exane/BNPP is not exactly rosy. The analysts say they expect the quarter’s revenues to be “weak” adding: “In Video, we expect underlying revenue growth to reach -10 per cent in Q2/19 (vs. -7.8 per cent […]

June 27, 2019

Video game streaming is the dawn of a new age

Analysts from investment bank Berenberg visited E3, the annual gaming expo held in Los Angeles, and in a comprehensive report provided a valuable analysis of the importance of the event to the industry, and pay-subscription patterns. Berenberg’s first comment is that there is an abundance of structural tailwinds that are likely to drive the games […]

June 26, 2019

Aircraft industry anxious about CBA 5G plan

A new filing to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and commenting on the C-Band Alliance’s plan to sell off 180 MHz of satellite spectrum for 5G, has thrown up some important concerns about the scheme. In particular, the letter expresses concerns about potential extremely harmful interference from new commercial wireless applications in the 3.7-4.2 GHz […]

June 25, 2019

Mass market 8K inevitable

The recent 8K Display Summit in New York saw speaker after speaker explain why they thought 8K displays would break through into the mass market, and not just for viewers in Asia. Florian Friedrich (Principal, FF Pictures) argued that many prejudices needed to be addressed. He said: “Some people say you need to sit 60 […]

June 24, 2019

FCC on CBA: “Working on deliberative process”

Ajit Pai, the Chairman of the FCC, along with two of his key Commissioners, met with the FCC oversight committee on June 12th at the US Senate on Capitol Hill, and were specifically questioned on the C-Band Alliance’s scheme to reassign 180 MHz of spectrum for 5G over the US. What followed were very timely […]

June 13, 2019

Is Intelsat worth $22, or a share?

Analysts at investment bank Morgan Stanley have reduced Intelsat’s target share price from $24 to $22.  Barclays, in their note, suggest a similar figure of $23 although that was some weeks ago. JP Morgan Chase placed a target value of $27. Others have placed a higher value on Intelsat, even as high as $50. However, […]

June 11, 2019

Could DirecTV and Dish merge?

There has been widespread gossip in recent days that DirecTV and Dish Network might be ripe for some sort of merger. A Bloomberg report on June 7th said that while no active talks were going on, Dish Network was “open” to discussions. The Dallas Business Journal (AT&T has a HQ in Dallas) added that AT&T […]

June 9, 2019

Don’t forget Loral Space in C-band windfall

If – or perhaps when – the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approves some sort of variation of the C-Band Alliance’s plan for the adoption of 180 MHz of satellite frequency over the US, there will be another financial beneficiary. The Alliance is being led by Intelsat and SES, who between them control around 90 per […]

June 7, 2019

Vivendi tops up war chest

Vivendi, late on June 4th, wrapped up the issue of a massive €2.1 billion bond in tranches to mature in 3, 6 and 9.5 years. A report to clients from Deutsche Bank summarises the background behind the move, saying: “The stated rationale was to finance the €1.1 billion M7 acquisition and to refinance an existing […]

June 6, 2019

Euro-FTA broadcasters: Undervalued or desperate?

A timely note from media analysts at Deutsche Bank questioned moves by some commercial broadcasters and, in particular, Mediaset’s purchase of a 9.6 per cent “friendly” stake in Germany’s ProSiebenSat1. The public rationale from Mediaset said: “It is in this spirit of collaboration and shared vision that Mediaset, the leader in Italy and Spain, has […]

June 3, 2019