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Egypt lifts satellite ban

Egypt’s Administrative Court has defied the country’s government and issued an order that in effect lifts the rules on censorship previously in place and which had resulted in many channels being banned. The court explained in its detailed verdict that censorship is not within the jurisdiction of the Media Minister or others, pointing out that […]

March 25, 2013

Boeing stirs interest in new bird

Boeing’s giant space division says that its new 702SP satellite, which uses sophisticated all-electric propulsion, is capturing significant interest from the world’s satellite operators. Exactly a year ago, it surprised the market with news that it had secured a four-satellite order for the 702SP model from Asia Broadcast Satellite and Mexico’s SatMex. At the Satellite […]

March 20, 2013

Proton failures force ILS to trim prices

International Launch Services (ILS), which is the US-based marketing arm of the Baikonur, Kazakhstan rocket launching operation, has been forced to cut prices to its customers following worries over insurance costs. The news emerged at the Satellite 2013 conference in Washington, where ILS’ recently appointed president and CEO Phillip Slack said that the three Proton […]

March 19, 2013

It’s just TV, now make it pay

It’s that time of year again and the industry is gathering in London for the TV Connect event. This is the latest iteration of what was founded as the IPTV World Forum, and the more generic name reflects the maturity of the business and the increasing transparency of the barriers between once competing segments. Virgin […]

March 18, 2013

FiOS forcing rethink on cable bundle fees?

There could be a major restructuring of cable carriage fees in store. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Verizon is already in discussions with some channel owners about adjusting their fees to more accurately reflect viewing audiences to its FiOS digital service. The argument is that some channels, and the WSJ specifically lists the […]

March 18, 2013

Pope boosts Eutelsat with news demand

Eutelsat has, so far, sold more than 700 hours of extra capacity for news links from Rome, helped by the election of Pope Francis. The satellite operator described the demand for extra capacity as “intense” and spread over 5 of its satellites. Eutelsat says demand for capacity accelerated when the College of Cardinals began deliberation […]

March 15, 2013

Harrods goes 4K and OLED crazy

Harrods, the iconic London department store, is awash with OLED and 4K displays. Its street windows are showcasing LG’s latest 55” OLED ultra-thin display – a snip at £10,000 (€11,500) a time – while its electronics department has another pair of the beasts on display, and available for pre-ordering. Harrods sales staff say they “are […]

March 10, 2013

India government criticises MSOs

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 […]

March 8, 2013By Chris Forrester

You ‘f+*&ing’ View!

I remember a press conference many years ago down at MIP, the room was packed and not just with eager reporters, there was also a surfeit of testosterone. Television, then recently released from the monoculture of national broadcasters, had become the field of choice for the world’s more colourful entrepreneurs to compare appendages. Ranged before […]

March 3, 2013

Meltdown at the UK’s YouView

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 […]

March 3, 2013