DirecTV is facing a tough ‘use it or lose it’ timetable to introduce its pay-TV service to Paraguay. Its licence to operate a service expires in six months, warned the regulator. The licence was awarded in May 2011. Conatel, the nation’s telecoms regulator, said that DirecTV’s license has just 6 months left to run. DirecTV […]
YahLive, the Abu Dhabi-owned HDTV service broadcasting over the Middle East, is now carrying more than 40 HDTV channels. On October 3 it added Russia Today’s English-language and Arabic (Rusiya Al-Yaum) channels, both in HD. SES-Astra has a significant stake in the service, and is responsible for marketing the satellite’s capacity. The 40+ channels means […]
Last week an Arianespace rocket launched GSAT-10 for India’s Space Research Organisation. IT has now emerged that Tata-Sky is likely to take about 8-10 of the craft’s total of 30 transponders, and thus expand its operations. Tata-Sky is owned by the giant Tata conglomerate along with News Corp-backed Star TV. Most of India’s DTH broadcasters […]
The US is lending $118 million in order for Vietnam to fund an extra communications satellite. The satellite, Vinasat-2, is already in orbit, having been launched in May. The cash is coming from The Export-Import Bank of the US, and will go to satellite builder Lockheed Martin Space Systems. The craft is being operated by […]
US satellite pay-TV operator DirecTV has re-emphasised its commitment to ‘next generation’ Ultra-HDTV transmissions. The broadcaster reportedly says it expects to start Ultra-HDTV in about four years. Philip J. Goswitz, DirecTV’s SVP for space and communications, told delegates at the recent Euroconsult conference in Paris that DirecTV were “huge proponents of [U-HDTV)”. He explained that […]
Eutelsat raised €300 million in a bond due for repayment in 2022. The financing was arranged via Credit Agricole and Societe Generale. Over the past few days, Eutelsat has enjoyed some favourable analyst comment from the financial community. CitiGroup, for example, rated Eutelsat its ‘Top Pick’ in terms of European satellite players (which includes SES, […]
Arianespace’s 5th mission this year successfully launched two communications satellites into orbit from its French Guiana spaceport at 6.18pm local time. The rocket’s two passengers had a total payload of 10,200 kgs including the satellite’s payload dispenser, making the flight one of the heaviest ever. It was also textbook flawless in that the flight achieved […]
Teleport SatLink Communications has confirmed that the International Judo Federation (IJF) has selected SatLink as its global content distribution partner for all of the competitions under its jurisdiction, including the World Masters, Grand Slam and Team World Championships, throughout 2012 and beyond. The live video broadcast of the competitions, which will be distributed to Europe, […]
Paris-based satellite operator Eutelsat is fully backing the emerging U-HDTV concept of improved-definition broadcasting. Eutelsat is shooting its own 4000-line ‘test footage’ ahead of starting a demo channel ahead of what they expect to be commercial deployments around 2015. Michel Chabrol, who heads up Eutelsat’s Digital Cinema initiative, says that despite the investment needed for […]
Modern Times Group (MTG) has confirmed the launch of UA.TV, a new pre-paid satellite pay-TV service in Ukraine. UA.TV is now being sold on a monthly pre-paid basis and is available alongside MTG’s Viasat Ukraine satellite pay-TV platform which was launched in 2008. The new service complements Viasat Ukraine’s existing premium satellite pay-TV subscription service […]