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.

Satellite insurance: “Too many underwriters”

An insurance company can take care of cover on hundreds if not thousands of homes or vehicles, or just a rocket launch or two. With the value of a large satellite, plus its launch costs, plus its post-separation first year in orbit – which mostly covers the majority of likely problems – topping $250 million, […]

July 9, 2019

FCC talks C-band decision

Intelsat, one of the main members of the C-Band Alliance, saw an 8.3 percent jump in its share price on July 5th following the FCC’s chairman Ajit Pai specifically referring to the upcoming C-band decision. Industry observers expect a decision towards the end of September. The Chairman’s comments, made in a speech in Argentina, weren’t […]

July 8, 2019

SES expectations “too optimistic”

SES is due to report its H1 results on July 26th for the 6 months to June 30th, but investment bank Berenberg is reducing its expectations and share price target, stating bluntly: “We think SES’s full-year guidance is too optimistic. We cut our numbers for both the video services and networks divisions. The net result […]

July 5, 2019

CBA makes comprehensive 5G pitch to FCC

The C-Band Alliance submitted a 39-page and extremely detailed ‘Public Notice’ filing to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on July 3rd that comprehensively argues its case for a ‘market-based approach’ for its proposed restructuring of C-band over the US for 5G. The filing also focuses on the rights – or otherwise – of C-band Earth […]

July 4, 2019

AsiaSat private move impacts satellite valuations

As Sami Kassab of investment bank Exane/BNPP reported in a note to investors, the news that AsiaSat is to move to private ownership is not the best of decisions for the other listed satellite majors. “Carlyle and CITIC currently own 74 per cent of Asiasat and have jointly made an offer to take the company […]

July 2, 2019

GapSat plans for mini-Geo satellites

Geo-stationary satellites are usually very large, and weigh anything between 3 – 7 tonnes. They are expensive to build, launch and insure. And when a satellite fails or suffers a problem it is a major nightmare for the operator impacting services and revenues. There are a handful of would-be satellite rescue plans under consideration, including […]

June 28, 2019

SES “weak quarter expected”

On July 26th SES will unveil its latest quarter of numbers (Q2) and a forecast from analysts at investment bank Exane/BNPP is not exactly rosy. The analysts say they expect the quarter’s revenues to be “weak” adding: “In Video, we expect underlying revenue growth to reach -10 per cent in Q2/19 (vs. -7.8 per cent […]

June 27, 2019

Video game streaming is the dawn of a new age

Analysts from investment bank Berenberg visited E3, the annual gaming expo held in Los Angeles, and in a comprehensive report provided a valuable analysis of the importance of the event to the industry, and pay-subscription patterns. Berenberg’s first comment is that there is an abundance of structural tailwinds that are likely to drive the games […]

June 26, 2019

Aircraft industry anxious about CBA 5G plan

A new filing to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and commenting on the C-Band Alliance’s plan to sell off 180 MHz of satellite spectrum for 5G, has thrown up some important concerns about the scheme. In particular, the letter expresses concerns about potential extremely harmful interference from new commercial wireless applications in the 3.7-4.2 GHz […]

June 25, 2019

Mass market 8K inevitable

The recent 8K Display Summit in New York saw speaker after speaker explain why they thought 8K displays would break through into the mass market, and not just for viewers in Asia. Florian Friedrich (Principal, FF Pictures) argued that many prejudices needed to be addressed. He said: “Some people say you need to sit 60 […]

June 24, 2019