Advanced Television

Inside Satellite

Chris Forrester

Chris Forrester is one of the most experienced and highly regarded journalists in the field. His insight and analysis, particularly in the satellite and pay-TV arena, is highly prized. He has written for all the major business journals in the sector as well as several national newspapers.

Israel’s Bezeq rated a ‘Buy’

Investment bank Jefferies has initiated coverage of Israeli telco and broadcaster Bezeq and giving the company a ‘Buy’ rating. Jefferies confirms that Bezeq, which supplies fixed-line and cellular telephony and is the 100 per cent owner of pay-TV operator YES TV, will launch its fibre network later this year following a change to Israeli regulations […]

September 11, 2020

RTL expects strong rebound as production resumes

RTL-owned production giant Fremantle says that out of some 200 of its TV productions that were closed down during the Covid-19 lockdowns, around 80 per cent have restarted or been completed. RTL Group CFO Björn Bauer, speaking at Deutsche Bank’s 2020 European TMT Conference, told delegates that 2021 should see demand being strong from streaming […]

September 10, 2020

Pro7 and ITV likely M&A targets

Nicolas de Tavernost, CEO of French broadcaster M6 (backed by RTL Grp), has reiterated his view that a major change of European regulation is needed regarding broadcaster consolidation as he believes the headlines will be dominated by the theme over the next years. In an interview with Le Journal du Dimanche, de Tavernost put forward […]

September 8, 2020

Turksat targets 30+ years for latest satellite

Most satellites that depend on chemical propulsion once in orbit are designed with an orbit lifetime of some 12-15 years. However, electrical propulsion can dramatically extend that life in orbit. Turksat is using Airbus Defence & Space to build its latest craft, Turksat 5A which is scheduled for launch in later this year by SpaceX. […]

September 7, 2020By Chris Forrester

Bank: “SES could suffer much lower revenues”

Earlier this week Giles Thorne, a media & telecoms analyst at investment bank Jefferies, gave Eutelsat a set of rosy expectations and a target share price of €18. A similar examination of prospects for satellite operator SES does not deliver the same optimistic forecasts… Indeed, the bank’s summary is pretty miserable, and despite a ‘Buy’ […]

September 4, 2020

Bank: Sky Italia deal could take Eutelsat to €18

Investment bank Jefferies, in its report on Sky Italia renewing their long-term distribution contract with Eutelsat,  says that the deal removes a “sword of Damocles” from Eutelsat’s prospects. “It removes a huge overhand for the stock,” says analyst Giles Thorne. Eutelsat’s share price has been in the doldrums for months, and the renewal news lifted […]

September 3, 2020

Gilat, Comtech agreement in jeopardy

Israel-based Gilat Satellite Networks has reported Q2 revenues of $38.3 million – down 36 per cent on the same period last year. The company also confirmed that the purchase of Gilat by Comtech Telecommunications remains at considerable risk. Gilat and Comtech are involved in litigation against each other. The purchase was originally priced at $50 […]

September 2, 2020

FCC denies C-band objectors

The FCC has firmly turned down objections from a few satellite operators who were not included in its 5G reallocation of C-band satellite frequencies. The three, collectively known as the ‘Small satellite Operators’ and comprising ABS Global, Empresa Argentina de Soluciones Satelitales, Hispamar and Hispasat of Madrid, had filed their objections to the FCC’s auction […]

September 1, 2020

Intelsat confirms it wants to buy

Intelsat, despite its Chapter 11 bankruptcy position, is looking to acquire a business. There are already market rumours that in-flight connectivity company Gogo is the target company. Intelsat, in its court documents, say: “The Debtors believe that, in order to remain competitive and to maximize their value as a go-forward enterprise, they must be able […]

August 28, 2020

Gates buys into satellite antennas

There are now three major would-be mega-constellation low Earth orbit satellite developers: Elon Musk’s Starlink, Jeff Bezos’ Project Kuiper and the UK/India joint-venture OneWeb (should it emerge from bankruptcy).  The missing link for each of them is a very low-cost phased array antenna to bring satellite broadband to the mass market. Which is perhaps where […]

August 27, 2020