Italian DTH platform Tivùsat has reached the milestone of 2.4 million active smartcards, or about 8 per cent of Italian households. The platform, which distributes the leading Italian terrestrial TV channels and a selection of international satellite TV channels (including several in HD), has introduced several novelties over the past few months. Besides a completely […]
The CEO and CFO at troubled Australian satellite (would-be) operator NewSat have been let go from the company which is in bankruptcy administration. CEO Adrian Ballintine was made redundant last Friday and CFO Mark Spragg let go on June 3rd. The company’s administrators said the two were “surplus to NewSat’s needs”. Ballintine founded NewSat back […]
There are unconfirmed reports that Charlie Ergen’s DISH Network is in merger talks with cellular giant T-Mobile. The Wall Street Journal is running the story saying Ergen would become Chairman of the enlarged group, while T-Mobile’s chief executive John Legere would be CEO. Dish is declining to comment. However, the WSJ says the deal discussions […]
France’s Canal+ has confirmed that it is to screen the forthcoming UEFA Champions League Final on Saturday June 6th between Barcelona and Juventus in Ultra High Definition. The broadcast will be via Astra craft situated at 19.2°E in partnership with SES and also OTT. The initiative is in line with the group’s year-old policy of […]
Officers from the UK’s Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) have arrested a man on suspicion of selling card sharing satellite receivers that provide viewers access to premium pay channels without a subscription. The 26-year-old man was arrested by detectives from the City of London Police unit in Southall, London at his place of work […]
Indian DTH operator Videocon d2h, already claiming market leadership in the country, reported full year to March 31st revenues up an impressive 32.5 per cent to Indian Rupees 23.38 billion, and subs revenues up 38.3 per cent, and each contributing to an overall EBITDA growth of 55.3 per cent to INR 6.09 billion ($97.3 million). […]
While just about everyone agrees that 4K/UHD is the ‘next big thing’ for broadcasters wishing to capitalise on viewers’ lust for everything that’s bigger and brighter, the fact remains that standard definition transmissions still dominates in most parts of the world. A detailed report from Northern Sky Research (NSR) explains the position. Looking at the […]
Australia’s NewSat assets look likely to be sold within days to a foreign buyer. Australia’s Financial Review suggests that the assets are being examined by a number of potential buyers, but Malaysia’s Measat looks to be the front runner. NewSat’s prime asset is a part-built satellite, Jabiru-1, but that is still at Lockheed Martin in […]
The CASBAA-sponsored Satellite Industry Forum heard some grave warnings that the local satellite operators face a “winter” of oversupply capacity. Speaker after speaker warned that there’s a high risk of over-supply even, while other speakers said they also wanted a slice of the action. Myanmar, for example, doesn’t have its own satellite, and U Thaung […]
Satellite start-up business NewSat of Australia is in bankruptcy, and two of the consequences are that a satellite (Jabiru-1) being built for it by Lockheed Martin is not needed, and the US/French export credit bank is facing a loss of around $100 million. A bankruptcy court hearing in Wilmington, Delaware, has been told that the […]