Iran has been planning a satellite system, Zohreh, since the early 1990s and in March 2001 signed a major contract with Russia to design, build and launch a craft. This project was scrubbed, although in 2004 Iran said they would launch a craft by 2005. In Jan 2005 Russia and Iran signed another contract, valued […]
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 […]
The more things change the more they stay the same? Is this the lesson of the last few years and the TV advertising market? For many years now niche channels have tried to deliver specialist audiences that have a higher value to advertisers than a mixed, mass audience. The results have been decidedly mixed. The […]
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 […]
We have a widget on the advanced-television.com news service that calculates the most read story over the last five days. It is clear that if the words connected TV feature in the story it will rank high and if the name Google TV is included it will shoot to the top. This fascination is divided […]