Measat says it is on schedule to launch three new satellites over the next two years. Measat’s SVP/space systems development Ali R Ebadi said its Africasat-1a craft was scheduled for launch in February next year, followed by Measat-3b at the end-2013 and Measat3C in 2014. “We continuously invest in satellite capacity to support the rapidly […]
Ofcom has come out in favour of ‘plurality checks’ of the UK news media every four or five years. And it believes the reviews should include the BBC and online news. So far, so interesting. But Ofcom doesn’t regulate the BBC – it would like to as this policy suggestion indicates – and certainly someone […]
A very long-running squabble between Eutelsat and Iran, which also involves Arabsat and the state of Qatar, is getting ever-more complex and has no sign of being resolved. At stake is a brand-new satellite now being built for Eutelsat and Qatar, and worth around $300 million and due for launch next year. The problem is […]
The verdicts are in, the stock market pundits have exercised their confidence – or otherwise – and the sports pages have had their say on whether BSkyB did the right thing by spending a spectacular £200 million a year more on primetime English Premier League action for the three upcoming soccer season from 2013. Also […]
The rise of international markets and the global reach of the Internet and broadband connectivity are forcing US content creators and distributors to confront several difficult challenges. The BBC World Service radio broadcasts have a knack for making almost any issue appear to take on great gravitas, no matter how arcane. I recently caught […]
Is it a Mad World? It seems so. Four examples from the last couple of weeks: One. BT has joined in the mad house of Premier League rights. Fair enough, this means BSkyB has to pay more than otherwise and it satisfies the politician’s need for Sky not to have a monopoly. I don’t want […]
Baseball star Yogi Berra summed up the situation perfectly, saying it’s déjà vu all over again, at least as far as BSkyB, and the other finalists are concerned in the English Premier League football bidding war. First, BSkyB has paid £100 million more, per season, than the highest-expected estimates. But Sky knows what it’s doing. […]
It seems that EchoStar-17, a satellite built by Space Systems/Loral, has been cleared for launch by Arianespace on July 5. The satellite was held back while awaiting a report on the problems that occurred with a Sea Launch/Energia rocket launch on May 31st ago, and which resulted in the Intelsat – 19 satellite not being […]
The New York Times reported June 8 that Comcast – still digesting its giant purchase of NBC – is now looking for another meal, and has BSkyB in its sights. Despite a very firm denial from Comcast’s CFO Michael Angelakis, who stated that the report was total speculation and inaccurate, the bid rumour sent BSkyB’s […]
There’s another suggestion floating around from DTH satellite giant DirecTV that a merger with rival Dish Network is a logical next step for the broadcasting pair. DirecTV’s CEO Mike White, speaking at a media conference in New York June 1st, said that there’s a lot to be said for a merger. He stated: “There is […]