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.
Last week Australia-based Speedcast (in bankruptcy reconstruction) struck an agreement with Intelsat (in Chapter 11 bankruptcy) which will see Speedcast continue its relationship with Intelsat over the next 15 months and pay what it owes to Intelsat. Speedcast owed Intelsat $45 million of old pre-bankruptcy invoices and will pay $24 million to cover obligations through […]
The National Association of [US] Broadcasters (NAB) in a filing to the FCC said the transition plans submitted by the various satellite operators as to the impending changes to C-band transmissions said they were optimistic about the transition. However, NAB cautioned the FCC to maintain an “unwavering focus on the protection of content distribution” over […]
Comtech’s plan to buy Israel-based Gilat Satellite Networks for $532 million (€470m) has hit a snag. The deal (70 per cent in cash and 30 per cent in Comtech Telecommunications common stock) was first announced by the pair in January. The obstacle is fairly fundamental and sees Comtech filing a formal complaint against Gilat (in […]
The joint bid for OneWeb’s assets by the UK government and India telco giant Bharti should get outline approval from the New York Southern District Bankruptcy Court today, July 10th. There are still a few formal logistical steps to be negotiated and the purchase is not likely to be totally signed off until November 27th […]
Media conglomerate Vivendi will report its Q2 numbers on July 30th, and a report from investment bank Jefferies says it is anticipating “deep declines across all 4 key Vivendi divisions”. The bank says that year-on-year Vivendi’s revenues numbers could be down 9 per cent to €3.544 billion for the quarter-year. As to Vivendi’s key divisions, […]
A UK parliamentary sub-committee is asking some tough questions of the British government about its commitment to buy OneWeb out of bankruptcy. The government’s Dept. of Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) was posed the questions by the all-party subcommittee (“the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Select Committee”) which is chaired currently by a Labour […]
India is already extremely active in terms of space activity with its own rockets and related satellite activity. But now a dedicated Space Activities Bill is completing its final stages in parliament. In June the government announced its reform plans which would allow a much greater role by India’s private sector and this would embrace […]
The British government is spending an initial $500 million (€444.9m),to take a reported 45 per cent stake in the consortium which includes Indian giant telco Bharti Global (paying a similar sum for a 45 per cent holding) to acquire bankrupt satellite constellation OneWeb Global Ltd. The UK has confirmed it will receive a “significant equity […]
Northrop Grumman has delivered two satellites to the Arianespace launch site in French Guiana. The two craft, a Galaxy 30 satellite as well as a second Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV-2, aka as a ‘Space Tug’) will be launched later in July on an Ariane 5 rocket. Galaxy 30 is one of Intelsat’s third-generation satellites and […]
The top six executives at Intelsat have won the bankruptcy court’s approval to receive salaries and bonus payments despite protests from the Department of Justice. The payments – worth $17 million (€15.1m) overall – are based on Intelsat’s key employee incentive (KEIP) agreements with the executives. The bankruptcy court’s Judge Keith Phillips confirmed his judgement […]
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