On July 31st Eutelsat, along with its end-of-year results, announced it was buying Mexico-based satellite operator SatMex for about $1.1 billion. The deal will probably close by the end of this year. Except the market is not sure it has done the right thing. Investment bank Morgan Stanley, for example, summed up the position saying […]
British satellite operator Inmarsat has reported a slight dip in Q2 earnings as the impact of US defence spending cuts has a continued effect. The company, which provides communications to shipping, aircraft and remote locations worldwide, reported EBITDA of $174 million, down from $176 million a year ago. Sequestration in the US has hit Inmarsat’s […]
August 1st at 18.00 BST marks the launch of BT Sport, the three-channel service from the telco that is taking the game to Sky in terms of premium sports coverage in the UK. On launch day, the service will be free for anyone with Freeview, TV from BT or Sky. The new BT Sport website, […]
Satellite operator DirectTV has announced an increase in second quarter 2013 revenues of 7 per cent to $7.70 billion, operating profit before depreciation and amortisation (OPBDA) of 4 per cent to $2.08 billion, a decline in operating profit of 4 per cent to $1.35 billion, and higher earnings per share of 8 per cent to […]
One region that has consistently outperformed the rest of the world is the MENA region, and at 7 & 8 deg West the combined might of Nilesat and Eutelsat are working together to grow the market to spectacular levels. Eutelsat said July 30 that the number of channels carried grew by 24 per cent y-o-y […]
From August 5, BBC World News will be offered as a High Definition (HD) feed across the Middle East when it launches its international HD channel on Arabsat. The satellite operator will be the BBC’s first distribution partner in the Middle East to offer the award winning news channel in HD. This deal will give […]
Paris-based Eutelsat is currently the third-largest in the world (after Intelsat and SES) but is determined to expand. This time last year it expanded to the East acquiring a satellite business that focussed on the Far East and part of Australia. On July 30th it announced it would build a giant satellite (Eutelsat 65 West […]
Asia Broadcast Satellite (ABS) has announced the confirmation of the build of ABS-2A, a multi-beam 48 transponder Ku- satellite which will be launched in the fourth quarter of 2015 to ABS’ prime 75°E location. ABS-2A, covering the growing markets of Russia, India, Middle East, Africa, South East Asia and the Indian Ocean region, will follow […]
The July 2nd catastrophic failure of a Russian Proton-M roc continues to make waves amongst the local rocket-building community. Reports suggest that key attitude sensors were inserted into the rocket upside down. Indeed, one wholly unconfirmed report says that the recovered parts showed signs of being forced into position. Russia’s deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin […]
The first commercial DTH satellite broadcasting of a linear 1080p television channel will commence in Africa later this year, as the result of the agreement by Sahara Media of Tanzania to broadcast the Landscape Channel in full HD, commencing this autumn. LandscapeHD will be available throughout Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Malawi, Mozambique and Burundi with […]