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BT chose sport over speed and service

So, BT Sport is for sale. Or is looking for strategic partners, etc, etc – all code for “up for sale”. No real surprise. Does it ever work when telcos, or other technology driven organisations, try and run TV companies? Not often. Why did it get in to sport, or indeed TV of any kind? […]

April 30, 2021

Bank modifies Eutelsat outlook

This week Eutelsat confirmed it would invest $550 million in broadband constellation OneWeb in return for a 24 percent stake in OneWeb. Ratings agency Fitch has given a “BBB” rating for Eutelsat with a “Stable Outlook”. The ratings report comes as investment bank Exane/BNPP also slightly modified its view of the deal, saying: “This initial […]

April 30, 2021

SiriusXM: “The most profitable audio company”

Jennifer Witz, pay-radio broadcaster SiriusXM’s CEO, told analysts that the business was the most profitable audio company in the world, and that SiriusXM had achieved record low Q1 churn (of 1.6 percent) and helping revenue growth of 5 per cent and EBITDA up 7 per cent. “This was the highest single quarter EBITDA figure in […]

April 29, 2021

Bank: “Eutelsat can make OneWeb viable”

Eutelsat is taking a 24 per cent stake in OneWeb. Eutelsat’s fresh cash values OneWeb at $2.3 billion. However, Eutelsat is paying a significant premium to enter OneWeb. When the UK government and India’s Bharti Global invested their cash into OneWeb they placed their $500 million into the business and received 42 per cent of […]

April 28, 2021

Bank: “NENT Q1 above expectations”

NENT’s Q1 results were above consensus expectations, apart from its Viaplay OTT service. According to investment bank Berenberg, the Nordic Entertainment Group’s operating margin of 7 per cent was also materially above expectations, leading to a significant outperformance at the EBIT level. The miss on Viaplay net sales was due to average revenue per user […]

April 27, 2021

Musk nears FCC LEO orbit approval

Elon Musk is getting closer to winning FCC approval to fly some of his Starlink low Earth orbiting (LEO) satellites at even lower heights. Acting FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel has asked her board colleagues to formally vote on the plan having herself endorsed the idea. SpaceX is already licensed to operate 1,584 of its Starlink […]

April 26, 2021

SpaceX blasts OneWeb over “near miss” exaggeration

A few days ago the press was full of stories of a near collision between two orbiting satellites, one from SpaceX’s Starlink and the other from OneWeb. There was talk of barely 60 metres between the two satellites. “Not so,” stated SpaceX in a submission to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), insisting that there was […]

April 22, 2021

Bezos vs Musk: Let battle commence

The news that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is now publicly committing to using the United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) giant Atlas 5 rocket was no great surprise. However, his decision allows a noticeably clear opportunity for a ‘contrast and compare’ between the Bezos-backed Project Kuiper and arch-rival Elon Musk’s Starlink scheme. The two rivals are also […]

April 21, 2021

Bank: “ESL bad news for broadcasters”

The world of football was thrown into turmoil by the announcement of a European Super League, and according to an investment bank report, could be “negative” for Europe’s broadcasters. The bank, Exane/BNPP, says the creation of the Super League – if it happens – could herald the sport’s biggest shakeup in decades and make elite […]

April 20, 2021

Musk: “Starlink out of beta-usage this summer”

Just hours before NASA awarded a massive $2.9 billion contract to restart human flights to the Moon – and back – Elon Musk, in one of his Tweets, told an enquirer that SpaceX’s Starlink broadband-by-satellite service would be transitioning out of a widespread beta-programme into conventional usage “probably by this summer”. Moreover, Musk answered another […]

April 19, 2021