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.
India’s government has dismissed critics of its TV digitalisation plan, including those who say that a new set-top box tax will damage the process. India’s powerful Information & Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry says that the nation’s MSOs have more than 2.2 million set-top boxes in stock, with a similar amount already procured, mostly from China and […]
Things were already bad at YouView, the UK’s struggling on-demand TV service, but there was complete meltdown on February 28th when the operation’s Chairman, Lord Alan Sugar (who fronts the UK’s version of The Apprentice reality TV show) and the owner of Channel 5, Richard Desmond reportedly came to near fisticuffs during a regular board […]
Eutelsat has been arguing with Deutsche Telekom over certain satellite assets at 28.5 degrees (which is the location used to beam hundreds of TV channels into the UK and Ireland). The dispute has been settled. The argument has been the subject of arbitration proceedings before the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris, and the result […]
Last week, satellite operator SES declared its full year 2012 results which were slightly below their original guidance to the market, with revenues not helped by further solar-array problems on its AMC-16 satellite (which is wholly leased to EchoStar) and a delayed approval of its EGNOS ‘super’ GPS cargo on SES-5. Egnos is a European […]
A major report from investment banker Morgan Stanley states that Modern Times Group is “structurally better positioned” for the future than its peers. The bank has upgraded its 2013 forecasts, themselves helped by good Q4 results unveiled last week. The report takes a segment by segment view of MTG’s key businesses although pulls no punches […]
Norway’s Telenor is a telco giant with business telephony interests throughout the world as well as Scandinavian subsidiaries such as Canal Digital (pay-TV), Conax (conditional access), Norkring (TV distribution) and its Telenor Satellite Broadcasting division. Group CEO Jon Fredrik Baksaas has told analysts that Telenor saw “immense developments in our industry. The world goes digital […]
Dish Network, never far from the courtroom, is suing sports giant ESPN for $152 million in a New York federal court in Manhattan. The argument concerns carriage deals, with Dish Network alleging that ESPN has broken the terms of a licensing agreement between the two parties. Barry Ostrager, a Dish lawyer from Simpson Thacher & […]
Last week the John Malone-controlled pay-radio operator unveiled record subscriber numbers as well as its best churn figures (1.8 per cent/month) for the past 5 years. The results also coincided with CEO Mel Karmazin stepping down (he went officially on Feb 1st) and being replaced by interim CEO Jim Mayer, who has a hard act […]
Thailand’s Food & Drug Administration has sent warning letters to 33 satellite channels saying they must stop airing “exaggerated” advertisements. The channels must immediately stop airing the commercials, or else face fines and potentially imprisonment. 301 channels were officially licensed (mostly with straightforward renewals) only last week by Thailand’s National Broadcasting & Telecommunications Commission, although […]
This coming Thursday (February 7th) will see Eutelsat reveal its half-year numbers, and the consensus from the market is that a series of records will emerge for the satellite operator. Top line video revenues are expected to grow by 8.6 per cent to €438 million and helping drive overall revenues to €633 million. The situation […]
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
Telefónica, DAZN score La Liga rights
Ofcom: “BBC should play to its strengths”
Australia: Content quota for streamers becomes law