Advanced Television

DTH/Satellite

Will ESA ever learn?

The European Space Agency (ESA) is continuing to back the Ariane 6 rocket development and according to its latest budget plans will place a further €8 billion into the launch sector starting next year of which €4.3 billion is to be injected into on-going development costs for Arianespace’s ‘next generation’ rocket launcher.  The ESA has […]

November 17, 2014

SpaceX “wins” ViaSat launch contract

Satellite broadband operator ViaSat of California has awarded the launch contract to Elon Musk’s SpaceX and its Falcon-9 rocket. Our headline says “wins” because reportedly France’s Arianespace declined to bid for the contract, with sources suggesting that there’s no launch capacity available until 2017.  ViaSat wanted a mid-2016 launch. ViaSat has a total of more […]

November 17, 2014By Chris Forrester

Final countdown for Kazakhstan?

The massive Kazakhstan spaceport in Baikonur could see an end to Russian rocket launches. Russia leases the space port from Kazakhstan for about $115 million a year, but the Kazakh’s have long complained of the physical damage done to the region by Russia’s rockets, and the risk of death and injury caused when something goes […]

November 17, 2014By Chris Forrester

Babylon signs transponder lease with Yahlive

Babylon Media Company has signed a contract for the lease of one transponder on Yahlive, the UAE-based satellite broadcasting company. With 13 TV channels already on Yahlive including Korek TV and Kanal 4 TV, Babylon Media Company plans to add at least four more exclusive TV channels on Yahlive’s East beam. With the additions of […]

November 17, 2014

DirecTV claims 4K UHD first

US DTH operator DirecTV has become the first multi-channel video provider to offer 4K Ultra-HD programming direct to customers’ TVs. Available immediately, DirecTV is offering a variety of new releases, popular films and nature documentaries in 4K, teaming up with Samsung as its exclusive CE 4K UHD launch partner. Customers who have DirecTV’s Genie HD […]

November 14, 2014By Colin Mann

EchoStar firming up Solaris plans

Back in January Denver based EchoStar bought struggling Solaris Mobile from its SES and Eutelsat joint owners. Solaris Mobile was planned to deliver S-band programming and content to handheld devices. Part of the reason why SES and Eutelsat were happy to see Solaris sold was because it had a defective antenna, and the project’s insurers […]

November 14, 2014By Chris Forrester

Viacom Q4 boosted by C5 buy

Viacom, owner of the Paramount movie studio and cable network MTV and Comedy Central, has reported strong Q4 profit and revenue. Revenue in Viacom’s movie business, the company’s second biggest, rose 12 per cent in the fourth quarter. A boost in affiliate fees – rates Viacom charges from cable and satellite TV operators and mobile […]

November 14, 2014

M7 Group contracts additional SES capacity

SES has announced that Luxembourg-based satellite television provider M7 Group has contracted additional capacity and extended an existing capacity contract at Astra 23.5 degrees East. M7 Group will be utilising the additional capacity to further expand the HD channel offering of Skylink, the M7-owned DTH television platform for the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Reaching over […]

November 14, 2014

BSkyB completes buys, renames as Sky

BSkyB has completed its acquisition of Sky Italia S.r.l and takeover offer for Sky Deutschland AG and announced its intention to change its name to Sky, in place of British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) in recognition of the international scope of the business. The Company has acquired 89.71 per cent of the share capital of Sky […]

November 13, 2014

Astra 2G on track

SES has confirmed that all is looking good with its upcoming launch of Astra 2G on November 28th. International Launch Services (ILS), which is responsible for the Proton rocket launch in Kazakhstan, completed the first day of fuelling the craft on November 10th. ILS also says that the Briz-M Upper Stage is undergoing its final […]

November 13, 2014