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.
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
What happens if you are an innocent viewer based in Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and trying to watch a football game carried by beIN Sports, or trying to catch a news report from Al Jazeera? The recent diplomatic row between Saudi Arabia and arch-rival Qatar is placing extreme strains on broadcasting […]
Last Thursday’s launch of two giant satellites by an Arianespace rocket was a success in more ways than one. The launch saw a flawless deployment of two important satellites, including Eutelsat 172B and the massive ViaSat-2 craft for broadband-by-satellite operator ViaSat of Carlsberg, California, and the heaviest-ever satellite (at 6,418 kgs) built by Boeing. The […]
International Launch Services (ILS), the commercial arm of Russia’s Proton rocket system, is to launch the much-delayed EchoStar XXI satellite next week on June 8th (at 06.45 Moscow time) from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Echostar XXI has been waiting for the best part of a year for launch, and was needed on station – […]
Research: Nordic streaming growth offsets traditional TV decline
Forecast: Global D2C revenue set for $370m surge
Four industry veterans elected to ATSC Board
Acast UK launching YouTube podcast offering
Survey: Home Alone named UK’s favourite Xmas film
SkyShowtime launches on United Group platforms
Report: Older audiences regularly watching influencer content
The Celebrity Traitors Final attracts 15m viewers
Spain: Orange, Vodafone add new TV channels 
Analysis: Repeat Xmas ads top consumer testing