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.
Mexican satellite operator Satmex (Satelites Mexicanos) has filed for US Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Their plan for the struggling operator is to mount a pre-pack, where it raises fresh cash and speedily emerges – possibly within 30-90 days – as a new business with much-reduced debt. Court papers filed with the Delaware Bankruptcy Court […]
Charlie Ergen’s satellite-focused DISH Network bid a massive $320 million for bankrupt video rental outfit Blockbuster. And you have to wonder, why? Ergen, never less than savvy, will end up paying about $228 million, say Wall Street sources, who confirm that the strategy makes very sound business sense. “With its more than 1,700 store locations, […]
Shares have climbed over five per cent in recent days as Wall Street gossip suggested that a federal court could be releasing positive news for TiVo any day now. At this stage any such gossip is just that, but investors would love to see a favourable end to TiVo’s very long-running patent dispute with Charlie […]
Arianespace is scheduled to launch two satellites tomorrow from Kourou in French Guiana. YahSat-1A, owned by Mubadala, an Abu Dhabi sovereign investment fund, and Intelsat New Dawn, a satellite owned jointly by Intelsat and an African investment group, make up the rocket’s cargo. YahSat-1A will be positioned at 52.5 degrees East to supply extra DTH […]
Talk-radio “shock-jock” Howard Stern is suing Sirius-XM Satellite Radio over the alleged non-payment of a performance bonus. Stern’s original contract was with XM Radio, a company that was bought out of near-bankruptcy by rival Sirius in July 2008. Stern’s original deal called for him to be paid the then staggering sum of $500m over five […]
When Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak was forced to step down on Feb 11 few would have thought of the ramifications that would impact broadcasting in and out of Egypt. Within hours Egypt’s state-supported television began congratulating the Egyptian people “for their pure great revolution, led by the best of the Egyptian youth”. The next day MENA […]
Intelsat is backing a revolutionary “satellite servicer”, a craft which is little more than an orbiting fuel tank to bring extra life to fading geostationary satellites. MacDonald, Dettwiler & Assoc (MDA) is prime contractor for the concept. MDA, a Canadian company, is best known for its ‘Canadarm’ robotic device used on the Space Shuttle. MDA’s […]
US pay-radio operator Sirius-XM is looking at international opportunities. Greg Maffei, Liberty Global’s CEO, is confirming what many had suspected for some time, and that Sirius-XM (Liberty controls 40 percent of Sirius-XM) wanted to expand overseas. “One of our goals is to get more international,” he told Credit Suisse’s Global Media & Communications conference. A […]
SES has entered into a “framework understanding” with Sea Launch for possible future launches of SES satellites. SES has to date by and large supported the French Arianespace or Russian Proton launch systems for placing its satellites into orbit. Its one experience with the floating ‘Sea Launch’ platform ended up in total catastrophe when the […]
SES Astra used the giant CeBIT show in Hannover to announce a new broadband product targeting communities across Europe without terrestrial broadband – the so-called ‘white spots’ of the countryside. ASTRA2Connect provides the backbone of this new sub-distribution service which supplies the ‘white spots’ with up to 6 Mbit/s of broadband connectivity but without the […]
Ofcom: “BBC should play to its strengths”
Australia: Content quota for streamers becomes law
Brazil: Anti-piracy action takes down 535 websites
Paramount+ partners with Arsenal
BBC Sport agrees La Liga digital clips deal
Magic Light creates The Gruffalo & Friends idents for BBC
ESA secures €22bn in funding
Report: Disabled people underrepresented in broadcasting jobs
Channel 4 reports record Hollyoaks viewership
URC returns to Premier Sports with Black Friday deal