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.
In an industry where the usual talk is of ”millions” and even “billions” of dollars it is all too easy to forget that – at least in India – subscribers pay just pennies for their TV service. Yesterday (July 29) Airtel Digital TV said that it had raised its ARPU by 17 Rupees (US 28 […]
London-based specialist satellite operator Avanti Communications has not had the best of weeks. Last week it put out a profits warning saying it would be hit by a £7 million loan arrangement fee. It was bizarre in that house broker Jefferies then drew special attention to the statement, warning investors and shareholders to “give careful […]
Thales Alenia Space has signed a contract with the leading telecom services company in Indonesia, PT. Telekomunikasi Indonesia TbK (Telkom), to build a new telecommunications satellite. Telkom-3S will increase the operator’s C-band capacity from its orbital position at 118° East, and will also offer HDTV channels and remote GSM/Internet services in Ku-band. Thales Alenia Space […]
The Malaysia aircraft catastrophe could result in a worsening of US-Russia relations, and severely damage upcoming satellite launch plans, as well as the manning and supply of the orbiting International Space Station. The British government, along with the Dutch, Australian and Malaysian authorities are amongst those calling for tougher financial and business sanctions against Russia, […]
Investment banker Berenberg has cut back on its expectations for German broadcasting giant Pro7Sat.1. In terms of the broadcaster’s share price the bank says its 12-month target is cut by €2 from €29.60 to €27.60. The reasons are the broadcaster’s “material underperformance” over the past year, although stressing that the bank’s view is some 5 […]
Time Warner might have won Round One of what may turn out to be a long-running boxing match, but Rupert Murdoch is quite likely to have a Plan B, and C, and D, in his corner ready for the next round. 21st Century Fox, in making a bid of $86 a share (in cash and […]
SpaceX’s giant Falcon-9 rocket successfully lifted six Orbcomm communications into low Earth orbit on July 14th. Orbcomm said that all six satellites were working well and sending out signals. The launch brings to an end some months of headache and launch delay anxieties caused by a handful of issues affecting the Falcon rocket (and weather […]
July 25th sees BSkyB unveil its Q4 and end-of-year results. Investment banker Nomura expects modest quarterly growth in net subscribers by about 68,000 (80,000 same period last year) and churn to hold steady at some 11 per cent and close to the previous quarter. Nomura’s media analyst Matthew Walker is forecasting lower broadband growth than […]
A Russian rocket lofted four satellites owned by Jersey-based O3b during the evening of July 10th. These four communications satellites will help provide satellite-based broadband to the ‘other 3 billion’ people who have either no Internet or inadequate service. The satellites will also provide connectivity to smaller, more isolated national networks as well as serving […]
Phil Falcone claims to be one of the richest men on the planet and co-founded and runs hedge fund Harbinger Capital Partners. One of their key assets is Lightsquared, which wanted to build a multi-million dollar hybrid satellite and terrestrial 4G network across the US and beyond. Charlie Ergen is also not short of a […]
ITVX Premium now on Prime Video UK
Research: US streaming audiences riding nostalgia wave
Survey: Third of consumers considering switching ISPs
Party Games coming to Netflix
RTVE launching 2Cat Catalan-language channel
Study: In-game ads drive action, but measurement standards lag
Comscore, TiVo measurement collaboration
Project Kuiper KF-03 batch readies for launch
Report: USP critical to broadband service provider AI plans
Philippines: IPOPHL calls for pirate site blocking