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.
A Luxembourg business event (EU Defence & Security) heard that just one year after its launch by SpaceX, GovSat has sold around 20 per cent of its military and government capacity. It launched on January 31st last year. There is a possibility that a second satellite could be bought. GovSat-1, itself a so-called ‘condominium’ satellite […]
Hispasat’s fleet of 11 active satellites, including the powerful Amazonas pair serving South America, are being bought by Red Eléctrica for €949 million. The Spanish electricity and telecoms company is buying 89.7 per cent of the business, subject to regulatory authority. Sami Kassab, an equity analyst at investment bank Exane/BNPP believes the deal is good news […]
Tim Farrar of TFA, a leading satellite industry consultant, has shared an idea to help solve the C-Band Alliance’s (CBA) process to free up 200 MHz of their C-band satellite capacity over the USA to help 5G adoption. Farrar said it was “truly ironic” to see objections to the CBA’s scheme from Google linked with […]
Last June hedge fund Kerrisdale Capital solidly backed Intelsat and SES over the C-Band Alliance’s likely significant gains from the sale of their C-Band spectrum over the US. In January it emerged that Kerrisdale had largely cashed in on its profits from its stake in Intelsat selling 7.79 million of its 8.48 million shares, and […]
The C-Band Alliance (CBA), which is trying to restructure 200 MHz of satellite spectrum over the US, is facing additional negative pressures, including Google, cable operator Charter Communications and a few other lobby groups including the American Cable Association (ACA). Potentially, the ACA’s objection could have merit in that its members are drawn from the […]
Ottawa-based satellite operator Telesat has struck a partnership agreement with Google’s Alphabet business and in particular its ‘Loon’ division. The Loon project sees a fleet of high altitude balloons providing satellite-type links to and from the ground. Telesat clearly sees the relationship with Loon as helping in its expansion plans. The full statement from Telesat […]
Members of the C-Band Alliance (CBA), which is looking to see 200 MHz of C-band capacity reassigned over the US for 5G adoption, have met with FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly and Erin McGrath, legal advisor to Commissioner O’Rielly. It seems that the presentation to Commissioner O’Rielly was polite, but blunt, and covered the “real and […]
Spotify will unveil its Q4 numbers on February 6th, and Vivendi a week later on February 14th. A report from equity analysts at investment bank Deutsche Bank has looked at the streaming sector and found much to commend it to investors. The headline news from the report is that the music industry is fully embracing […]
This week, Viacom paid $340 million in hard cash to buy the US-based free streaming service Pluto TV. Investment analysts from Deutsche Bank say: “this represents another indicator of the potential size of reinvestment required from traditional broadcasters in respond to changing viewing habits.” While Viacom is best known for appealing to younger viewers (whether […]
The proposed realignment of some C-band frequencies over the US in order to boost 5G take-up has seemingly “lost lustre” these past few months as investors saw the FCC withdrawing into its ivory tower as reason to take profits after an electric year of out-performance [by the two main backers of the scheme: Intelsat and […]
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Kazakhstan: Freedom Media acquires All3Media titles
Fox invests in Holywater vertical video firm
Channel 4 streaming minutes up 36% YoY
CMA confirms Google strategic market status
ACE celebrates antipiracy wins
Prime Video ads reaching 22m UK viewers monthly
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Netflix set to bid for Champions League rights