A company backed by the Permira funds, along with the Asia Broadcast Satellite (ABS) management team, has reached an agreement to acquire Kingsbridge Limited, the holding company for ABS, one of the fastest growing premium satellite operators in the world. The Permira funds will become the majority shareholder of ABS. Founded in 2006 by […]
A new five-year deal between Australia’s national broadcaster, the ABC, and Ericsson will help address rural DTT blindspots. Thanks to Ericsson’s latest satellite video compression technology, the ABC will be able to expand the reach of its high-definition and standard-definition digital TV programming across the country. As Australia undergoes the switch from analogue to […]
Intelsat has revealed that Bulgarian telecom provider VIVACOM has signed a multi-year, multi-transponder contract for Intelsat capacity on the Intelsat 12 satellite (IS-12). Vivacom will extend its existing offer for residential customers, which currently includes a landline phone, mobile connection and Internet access, to television programming. Through this new offering, Vivacom will deliver more […]
France – Euroconsult used its Paris satellite business week conference to present its latest study, saying that an estimated 1,220 satellites will be built for launch over the next decade. The average of 122 satellites to be launched per year is up significantly from the annual average of 77 satellites launched in the previous decade, […]
SES Astra has announced a new initiative to support the introduction of 3D television in Europe. As part of the initiative, the industry reached a common understanding of the minimum technical specifications for the introduction of 3D television and broadcasting. The initiative is backed by SES Astra and major European broadcasters including public and […]
Paris-based satellite operator Eutelsat says it does not fear competition from fibre-based ultra high-speed broadband services, because it targets different consumers, Eutelsat CEO Michel de Rosen told La Tribune. In France, for example, there are still three million homes without digital terrestrial TV (DTT) coverage due to topography or proximity to borders, he said. As […]
The French media group has said it will press ahead with a flotation of its stake in pay-television broadcaster Canal Plus after failing to strike a deal with Vivendi. Arnaud Lagardère, chief executive, said there would “not be a U-turn” in a planned IPO of its 20 per cent stake which it values at E1.5bn […]
Sky Italia could launch a movie channel in 3D in the next 12 months, according to CEO Tom Mockridge. During a press conference to present the new football season on Sky Italia, Mockridge said that a 3D version of the Sky TG24 and Sky Sport channel is also on the cards. However he added that […]
A few weeks ago Romain Bausch, the CEO of satellite operator SES, spoke ambitiously of further expansion for SES. He specifically mentioned two possible target operators: Intelsat, a similarly huge supplier of satellite capacity and services, and Telesat of Canada. Telesat is part-owned by Canadian pension interests and the investors behind Space Systems Loral. Evidently […]
Worldspace, the struggling pay-radio operator, is facing another challenge, this time from investors who allege certain wrongdoings over the broadcaster’s IPO. Last week Judge Peter Walsh, who is supervising Worldspace’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy, ruled that Worldspace must hand over all and any documents that lawyers have demanded in the long-running Class Action against Worldspace and […]