Bloomberg’s Businessweek is reporting that the USA’s two giant DBS pay-TV operators DirecTV and Dish Network did hold merger discussions as recently as six days prior to the AT&T deal being announced. DirecTV has confirmed that it did hold talks “with a competitor” without naming the rival. The revelation emerged in documents filed with the […]
blinkx, the ad targeting company, took a real pasting when it recently issued a profit warning. It said it was partly down to the damaging blog from a Harvard academic that cast doubt on the veracity of the company’s audience traffic data. It also said it was down to “industry-wide issues of efficiency and effectiveness”, […]
Last week’s US Supreme Court ruling that Aereo must cease retransmitting over-the-air content, might now have a deep impact on other players. Fox Broadcasting almost immediately filed a fresh motion with the 9th Circuit Court which is hearing its appeal against an infringement decision made by the court in favour of Dish Network’s ‘Hopper’ place-shifting […]
Martin Halliwell, CTO at satellite operator SES, has issued a blunt warning to Europe’s space agencies, especially the French, that planned redesigns of the giant Ariane rocket launcher are not ambitious enough. Airbus Defence & Space and rocket-engine builder Safran has just created a joint-venture to build an Ariane-6 rocket, and in the process scrap […]
The launch industry is in a very deep mess. The past few days have seen SpaceX cancel three planned launches for satellite operator Orbcomm. The best the rocket company can do is to launch the first week of July, says the company. But this delay has severely impacted AsiaSat of Hong Kong. They have two […]
For the past week or so, Advanced-Television has been cataloguing the numerous delays affecting the rocket launch sector, and the growing number of satellite operators facing serious delays to their launch – and business – plans. Now SpaceX, backed by billionaire Elon Musk, having been forced to delay the planned launch of six Orbcomm satellite […]
Charlie Ergen, the main shareholder (along with his wife) in both EchoStar and DBS broadcaster Dish Network, has been busy buying up broadcast transmission and spectrum rights for the past few years. Indeed, while he – and rival DirecTV – spoke openly about their joint ‘need to merge’ their TV operations, we now know that […]
US satellite broadband supplier ViaSat is seeking a Court-imposed injunction to stop Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) building at least one satellite. ViaSat alleges that SS/L is continuing to violate patents that it holds. ViaSat has already been awarded $283 million in damages and compensation following on from a jury trial against SS/L. Loral Space & Communications, […]
Two of the most litigious corporations on the planet look like cutting back on their lawyer’s bills. South Korea’s Samsung and the USA’s Apple are reportedly getting tired of the near-constant – and hugely expensive – patent battles. The Korea Times is saying that the pair are seeking to reach “common ground” so that they […]
BSkyB has selected two investment banks to advise it on its next steps forward in its plan to acquire, or merge, with 21st Century Fox’s other European pay-TV operators, Sky Italia (100 per cent owned by Fox) and Sky Germany (57 per cent owned by Fox). Morgan Stanley and Barclays have been hired to advise […]