EchoStar and its spin-off Dish Network declared their half-yearly results with profits down but subscription numbers up. EchoStar Corp, which operates the satellites more than doubled its profits in Q2 earning $101.8m (against $47.8m the same period last year). But the company's revenues fell 21% to $383m from $483.3m. The company blamed lower set-top box […]
European satellite giant SES has reported a 10 per cent rise in first-half core profit (EBITDA) to E607 million. The company repeated it saw revenue growth of 3-4 per cent on a like-for-like basis and an EBITDA margin for its infrastructure business of above 82 per cent.
By Branislav Pekic Italian public broadcaster RAI will continue to make available its three main TV channels (Rai Uno, Rai Due and Rai Tre) via Sky, even after the launch of the Tivù Sat DTH platform on July 31. Speaking during the presentation of Tivù Sat in Rome, the deputy director general of RAI, Giancarlo […]
Euroconsult has reported that growth in the fixed satellite market has remained strong despite the adverse economic environment. According to Euroconsult the sector grew in terms of both transponder demand (+9 per cent) and overall revenues (+10.7 per cent) representing a peak in the current decade. Digital entertainment and emerging digital markets remain the primary […]
GlobeCast, content management and delivery specialist, and Eutelsat Communications have announced the signature of a new contract at Eutelsat’s specialist video neighbourhood for central European digital TV markets at 16 degrees East. The new contract for one transponder will be used by GlobeCast to broadcast channels produced by TVR, Romania’s national public broadcaster. It doubles […]
From David Del Valle in Madrid The future of the Spain’s largest pay-TV platform, Digital Plus, looks in doubt as subscriber numbers fall. The company, owned by Sogecable, controlled in turn by Prisa Group, lost 148,000 subscribers in the last 12 months with 70,000 of them in the second quarter of the year. The platform […]
ESOA (the European Satellite Operator's Association) has elected Romain Bausch, CEO of SES as Chairman of the Board. Bausch, a satellite industry veteran, joined SES in 1995 as CEO and has been President and CEO since 2001. He also serves as Chairman of the SES Executive Committee, Chairman of the Board of Directors of SES […]
Bahrain-based Orbit and Dubai's Showtime Arabia are merging between the two rival pay-TV businesses. The new company is an "equal partnership" between Orbit, up until now a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Saudi Arabia-based Mawarid Group, and Showtime Arabia/Gulf-DTH which was owned by Kuwait's KIPCO and Viacom. The new business will offer new packages to viewers […]
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has said the DTH subscriber base has swelled to more than 13 million in the country, indicating an increased penetration of the service. TRAI said “total number of reported registered Direct to Home (DTH) subscribers served by five private DTH operators, offering paid service, had gone up to […]
Sky Deutscheland has terminated its distribution contact with Deutsche Telekom for the its IPTV platform. The 'T-Entertainment' branded service will is no loner available through Sky, though both companies have acknowledged that the possibility of further talks remains. Premiere announced plans to rebrand as Sky Deutschland in April, which has since seen the two pay-TV […]