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.
On February 26th SES announced that its SES Platform Services (SPS) division would be acquiring Tel Aviv-based RR Media for about $242 million ($13.29 a share). The agreement is expected to close during the next few months, and without presuming too much both RR Media boss Avi Cohen and SPS CEO Wilfried Urner are planning […]
The huge MIPTV programming market in Cannes this coming week (April 4-7) will see three days of intense focus on 4K/UHD programming. Indeed, it is now clear that 2016 is likely to be the year when 4K does begin to break through to viewers around the world. The constant stream of positive news for 4K […]
Semiconductor and chipset developer Broadcom has started legal proceedings against Elon Musk’s rocket-company SpaceX, alleging that Musk’s business has violated NDA’s that existed between the two companies and SpaceX is further accused of “raiding its employees” in order to gain proprietary information. The action has been filed in Orange County Superior Court, and commenced on […]
The satellite sector has had a torrid time lately, not helped by a lack of confidence with investors over Intelsat’s position. Intelsat’s troubled status – as far as the stock market is concerned – has also affected the share positions at SES and Eutelsat. Equity analysts at Berenberg Bank, in a strong “BUY” note to […]
A French TV report says that the recent agreement between Vivendi and sports rights-holder beIN Sport, and which sees Canal Plus gaining access to some of beIN’s sports events, is going to extremely expensive for Canal Plus Group. Canal Plus is paying beIN more than €300 million annually for access to beIN’s rights, with Canal […]
Investment bankers Morgan Stanley is slashing its share price target for satellite operator Intelsat to just $1 (from its earlier target of $5) and a 64 per cent discount to the operator’s closing price on March 21st. Morgan Stanley is maintaining its “Underweight” rating to investors. Intelsat’s share price has tumbled some 72 per cent […]
Last week, Hong Kong-based AsiaSat unveiled lower revenues (down 4 per cent) for 2015 and said it expected more headwinds for 2016 as pricing pressures from competitors force down transponder and bandwidth rental prices. AsiaSat’s chairman, Ju Wei Min, in a statement, warned shareholders that the satellite operator was being squeezed and non-renewals of contracts […]
Last week rocket company SpaceX said it expected satellite launch costs to fall some 30 per cent once it had perfected its landing and thus re-use of its Falcon-9 rockets. The news was welcomed by equity analysts at Exane-BNP/Paribas, who said that this could mean the launch costs for a satellite operator falling from today’s […]
Rocket launch company SpaceX says it will launch 18 missions this year, and that in 2017 there will be more. Speaking at the Satellite 2016 convention in Washington, the company’s president Gwynne Shotwell, said that next year’s manifest could absorb around 24 launches, and perhaps far more. She also spoke enthusiastically about dramatically trimming SpaceX’s […]
Reports out of the Satellite 2016 event in Washington DC suggest that satellite giant Intelsat is close to signing what is being described as a “pioneering” contract for an in-orbit ‘Space Tug’. The plans will see Intelsat link with Orbital ATK. They are not yet confirmed but the last time Intelsat looked at this they […]
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
Channel 4 appoints Nash as Director of Brand & Content Marketing
DocuBox launches Polish version
Karlén named EVP and CEO Viaplay Group Sweden
Report: Larger TV size sales continue to grow