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.

Eutelsat is through the “perfect storm”

Paris-based satellite operator Eutelsat received a positive report from equity analysts at investment bank Berenberg, saying that despite a lackluster Q2 and Q3 (in its trading year which wrapped on June 30th) the operator “looks to be through the worst of what we have been describing as a perfect storm. Having spent time recently with […]

July 5, 2017

Inmarsat accuses Eutelsat, ViaSat and Panasonic of “making mischief”

June 28th saw Inmarsat’s S-EAN (European Aviation Network) satellite launched by an Arianespace rocket. The satellite’s launch is controversial and Eutelsat, ViaSat of California and in-flight communications company Panasonic Aviation have lodged objections to the European Court of Justice and asking for an injunction to be issued to stop Inmarsat’s satellite opening for business. The […]

July 4, 2017

Mixed messages for SES

SES held its annual ‘investors day’ in London, June 28th, although some investors seemingly took a less than optimistic view of the satellite operator’s prospects. Some negative comments prompted a fall in SES’ share price of some 3 per cent, down from €21.88 to €21.50 on the day. But it might be that the market […]

June 29, 2017

Intelsat sticks with Plan A

When the proposed merger between giant satellite operator Intelsat and newcomer OneWeb – and financed in large part by Japanese media conglomerate SoftBank- hit some stormy waters, many observers spoke about Intelsat’s Plan B, as to what it might do should the merger unravel. Intelsat’s SVP/Sales & Marketing, Kurt Riegelman, speaking to trade magazine Via […]

June 27, 2017

Fox Sky bid decision this week

UK Culture Secretary Karen Bradley will on Thursday tell parliament her view on the plan by Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox $14.8 billion bid to acquire Britain’s Sky pay-TV business and its European subsidiaries. Bradley received regulator Ofcom’s views on the deal last week and will report to parliament on June 29. She will say […]

June 26, 2017

Massive boost for satellite capacity by 2020

Paris-based research company Euroconsult, in its latest report (High Throughput Satellites: Vertical Market Analysis & Forecasts), says there is going to be a significant increase in High Throughput Satellites (HTS) over the next few year, and with each of these new satellites capable of delivering extra capacity into the market. Euroconsult reminds us that over […]

June 22, 2017

Intelsat revenue warning

Major satellite operator Intelsat has cautioned the market that revenue and income for this year will be lower than expected. Intelsat cites a slower-than-anticipated take-up of capacity on its new ‘Epic’ fleet of High Throughput Satellites. Intelsat says it expects EBITDA to fall by $23 million to around $1.655 billion. Revenue expectations are trimmed to […]

June 19, 2017

Eutelsat’s 2019 forecast looks positive

The ‘big three’ satellite operators (SES, Intelsat and Eutelsat) have had a torrid couple of years, with margins squeezed and competition for business fierce. Indeed, that competition saw Eutelsat’s CEO Rodolphe Belmer complain to French financial newspaper Les Echoes that rival Inmarsat is not playing fair and is using S-band frequencies to deliver broadband to […]

June 15, 2017

What’s next for Pandora?

Last week’s investment of $480 million (€428m) by pay-radio operator SiriusXM into music streaming service Pandora leaves far more questions unanswered than answered. The deal has yet to proceed through various hurdles, but assuming the deal wraps, then SiriusXM will have an 18 per cent stake in Pandora, and with Pandora saying it will use […]

June 13, 2017

Qatar: World Cup in jeopardy

Last week’s ending of diplomatic relations between Qatar and almost all of the other Gulf States, not least Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – and which provoked a series of ‘cyber-threats’ to be carried out on Qatar-based news channel Al Jazeera – but it is now clear that there is now far more […]

June 12, 2017