Continuing a 28-year relationship marked by 25 launch campaigns, Eutelsat Communications and Arianespace have concluded a new contract for a satellite launch in the 2012 period. The contract for an Ariane 5 launch from the Guiana Space Centre, provides Eutelsat with launch diversity and schedule assurance for its significant in-orbit expansion programme of six satellites […]
Hong Kong telco PCCW has launched its new pay-per-view movie on-demand service branded ‘now Video Express’. The service is available on its IPTV platform ‘now TV’ and offers the movies from major Hollywood studios including Paramount, Twentieth Century Fox and Warner Bros. Titles will be offered both in high-definition and in standard-definition, with some to […]
LOVEFiLM and Ocado kick start 2011 with a 12-month contract that will see the supermarket giant direct marketing to LOVEFiLM’s sizeable and well-suited customer base. LOVEFiLM, Europe’s largest subscription service streaming movies and TV episodes over the internet and sending DVDs by post, will distribute uniquely branded inserts direct to customers’ doorsteps via rental titles […]
BT’S pay-TV ambitions have been dealt a blow with the delay of a new and potentially ground-breaking service to bring VOD to Freeview. The launch of the YouView service will be delayed six months beyond the summer according to reports in the Daily Mail. The paper says technical problems and discord between the partners mean […]
SES Astra has won the contract to carry Bulgaria’s Satellite BG pay TV platform, heading off stiff competition from a number of rival satellite operators. Satellite BG will transmit from Astra’s increasingly busy 23.5 degrees East position, and take three transponders effective today in readiness for the platform’s 70-channel debut on February 1. Central and […]
T-HT, Croatia’s leading telecom operator has selected the 16 degrees East satellite neighbourhood operated by Eutelsat to extend the reach of its MAXtv pay-TV platform to all homes across Croatia. The two companies have concluded a 10-year contract for three satellite transponders, enabling MAXtv, which launched as an IP platform in September 2006, to consolidate […]
Premium VOD and piracy rank the two biggest challenges facing movie theatre owners in 2011, according to John Fithian, CEO of National Association of Theatre Owners. Speaking in a conference call hosted by MKM Partners, Fithian said studio efforts to bolster declining home entertainment disc sales through premium VOD presents a greater risk to the […]
South Africa will complete the process of migrating from analogue to digital television by December 2013, Communications Minister Radhakrishna Padayachie has stated. The analogue switch off date was originally set for November 2011 but has since been changed to December 2013 by government. The minister also confirmed South Africa would adopt the DVB-T2 standard for […]
ViaSat has rescheduled the launch of its high-capacity satellite ViaSat-1 with International Launch Services (ILS) to summer 2011. The delay provides additional time for repair and testing after the satellite was damaged while being moved during the testing process. All costs related to the repair and re-testing of the satellite are being assumed by the […]
Measat Satellite Systems has confirmed an agreement for the provision of two additional Ku-band transponders to Sun Direct. This agreement expands Sun Direct’s capacity on the Measat fleet to four transponders, making Measat-3 the prime satellite for its DTH service. Measat is a premium supplier of satellite communication services to Asia’s leading broadcasters, DTH platforms […]