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.
An unconfirmed report (from the ‘Directors Talk/Betaville’ blog) says that troubled satellite operator Avanti Communications is “on the verge of securing an agreement for a sale”. The report says that 60 per cent of Avanti’s 2016 bondholders (notably MAST Capital and Solus Alternative Asset Mgt, which between them own 26 per cent of Avanti’s equity) […]
MoffettNathanson’s senior analyst Michael Nathanson is concerned that the best days for some multichannel broadcasters could be well over. In a September 27th report he said that the media industry generally is now trading at an 80 per cent discount to the market multiple, and which is the lowest relative level since 2008. “However, we […]
On September 22nd, the Financial Times published a piece that – in so many words – spelled ‘doom and gloom’ for the satellite industry as a whole, and suggesting that the “golden age” for satellite operators was well and truly over. The article linked the recent explosion at the SpaceX as “heightening a sense of […]
There’s little news from beleaguered speciality satellite operator Avanti Communications, other than it is rolling over its already expensive debt obligations by borrowing more cash to keep itself afloat. Avanti, in a September 16th update to its earlier ‘strategic review’ profits warning statement of July 11th, explained how talks were still on-going with potential buyers/funders […]
‘Life or death’ makes a dramatic headline, but that’s the comment from one observer as to anxieties over rocket company SpaceX returning to flight anytime soon. The worries are that a nine-to-12 month delay in returning to its launch tasks could wipe out the business. September 1st saw a SpaceX rocket suffer an on-ground ‘anomaly’ […]
Three-dimensional TV has nothing to do with 3D TV, now largely discounted as yesterday’s technology. But Japan’s NHK public broadcaster is actively looking at holographic television as its next step to follow on from ‘Super Hi-Vision’, its 8K transmission system which starts broadcasting in 2018. 8K/Super Hi-Vision is being developed in time for the 2020 […]
It hasn’t been a secret that the recent launch of Intelsat’s latest ‘Epic’ satellite suffered a post-launch problem. The important satellite was launched on August 24th, and all seemed well, but on September 9th Intelsat said that a “malfunction of its primary [electric] thruster” had suffered an anomaly. The primary electric thruster is designed to […]
Euroconsult’s Paris Business Week saw Boeing confirm it was to build a broadband satellite for the Cayman Islands. GiSAT will provide broadcast and broadband capability to a targeted 35 sub-Saharan nations in Africa. GiSat will use Boeing’s tried and tested HS-702 model satellite for a private consortium based on the Cayman Islands. The satellite to […]
Arianespace is looking at adding another flight to its 2017 planned manifest, and in order to take up some of the delays caused by the recent problems at SpaceX and Russia’s Proton launch system. This year Arianespace is planning to launch 7 times, one less than originally anticipated. The ‘missing’ launch was that of Japan’s […]
It was time-saving of at least a day in the pre-launch campaign that seemed to have been the reason why Spacecom’s AMOS-6 satellite was sitting on top of its SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket when a conflagration occurred on September 1. A full and exhaustive study is taking place into the explosion at SpaceX, supervised by […]
SkyShowtime launches on United Group platforms
Report: Older audiences regularly watching influencer content
The Celebrity Traitors Final attracts 15m viewers
Analysis: Repeat Xmas ads top consumer testing
Channel 4 appoints Nash as Director of Brand & Content Marketing
DocuBox launches Polish version
Karlén named EVP and CEO Viaplay Group Sweden
Ofcom fines Virgin Media £23.8m for telecare failiures
Telefónica, DAZN score La Liga rights
Ofcom: “BBC should play to its strengths”