Advanced Television

DTH/Satellite

Eutelsat serving 274m homes in key regions

Figures from satellite operator Eutelsat on the number of homes receiving channels broadcast by eight of its flagship television neighbourhoods serving Europe, North Africa and the Middle East reveal that a total of 274 million homes are now either equipped for Direct-to-Home (DTH) reception or connected to a cable or IP network offering channels broadcast […]

January 9, 2015

Credit Suisse backs 4K for satellite operators

Investment bankers Credit Suisse, in a note to clients this week, has helped boost share prices for the main satellite operators to near-record levels. The report focuses on “the 4K revolution” likely to have a major impact on satellite capacity over the next year or two. Credit Suisse says: “4K, the next generation of HD, […]

January 9, 2015

Sky Sports extends ECB partnership

Sky Sports has extended its broadcast partnership with the England & Wales Cricket Board until 2019, increasing its commitment to English cricket for a further two years. The agreement offers cricket fans unprecedented coverage of England home fixtures, county matches, women’s and age grade cricket, and will take the existing partnership into its 14th year. […]

January 8, 2015

DirecTV confirms 2 satellites for 4K

DirecTV used International CES in Las Vegas to confirm that it will have two satellites serving its 4K needs across the USA. Philip Goswitz, an SVP at DirecTV, added that one recently-launched satellite is now operational and the other is going up in May, he said. Goswitz said that the industry needed common standards, and […]

January 8, 2015By Chris Forrester

Argentina FTA-satellite targets 100,000

Argentina’s ARSAT (Argentina de Soluciones Satelitales) says it is looking to connect 100,000 satellite users to its digital free-to-air broadcasts by next year (2016). Matías Bianchi, president of ARSAT, says his company is planning to roll out a digital terrestrial infrastructure covering some 85 per cent of the country, while the remaining 15 per cent […]

January 7, 2015By Chris Forrester

Arianespace confident for 2015 sales

Arianespace’s CEO Stéphane Israël says the launch company is expecting an “intense” schedule for this year. “We are targeting another record year of missions, while continuing our pursuit of commercial activities to further expand the order book,” he said. “This follows a milestone 2014 from the operational point of view, along with the important actions […]

January 7, 2015

Mexico plans two satellite launches this year

Mexico says that it plans to launch two new orbital satellites this year.  The country’s Communications & Transport Ministry (SCT) said the first of the pair, its Centenario craft, should launch in April. Mexico’s Morelos-3 satellite should then follow in October or November this year. Centenario will be launched by International Launch Services aboard a […]

January 6, 2015By Chris Forrester

Iran bans 17 satellite channels

The Islamic Republic of Iran has closed down the local offices of 17 “enemy” television channels, according to the FARS news agency. “Enemies have established 17 satellite channels in the name of Shia (Islam),” said Iran’s Deputy Intelligence Minister Mohammad Pour-Fallah, adding that the Islamic Republic has shut down their offices. This is not the […]

January 5, 2015By Chris Forrester

Russia’s Orion Express wants 300 channels

Pay-TV operator Orion Express says it wants to grow the number of channels it has within its portfolio from 250 to 300 by the end of 2015. The broadcaster added some 83 channels during 2014. Orion claims 2.41 million subscribers as at the end of September 2014, and transmits its signals across Russia via Intelsat-15, […]

January 2, 2015By Chris Forrester

Al-Jazeera dumps Arabsat Jan 1

We reported before the holiday that Al-Jazeera’s news and entertainment channels were to switch to Qatar’s own Es’Hail-1 satellite. It is now clear that the new transmission model includes Al-Jazeera’s non-news channels, as well as its ‘English’ and ‘America’ versions of its news channel. The decision covers channels from Al-Jazeera Media Network. Transmissions are already […]

December 31, 2014By Chris Forrester