Rodolphe Belmer, CEO at Eutelsat since 2016, is stepping down. He is joining French multinational information technology and consulting firm Atos as CEO. The move is seen as a probable end to the bid by Patrick Drahi to take control of Eutelsat. The news was broken by Atos on the evening of October 20th after […]
Intelsat’s CEO Steve Spengler is to step down, just hours after Eutelsat’s Belmer announced his move. Spengler will retire once Intelsat emerges from its Chapter 11 bankruptcy. “Until that time, Spengler will continue as CEO and lead Intelsat through the final stages of this process, ensuring a smooth transition,” said a company statement. A search […]
Judge Keith Phillips has a busy afternoon at his bankruptcy court today (October 20th) listening and adjudicating on a long list of motions concerning Intelsat. Late yesterday (October 19th), Intelsat’s lawyers filed (at 21.28pm) an additional supplement on its Chapter 11 exit from bankruptcy plan and at a mere 333 pages which probably kept the […]
Eutelsat Communications has signed a multi-year agreement enabling Poland’s leading media company to secure incremental in-orbit resources at Eutelsat’s flagship HOTBIRD video neighbourhood at 13° East. The agreement is another step in the long-standing partnership between TVN, one of HOTBIRD’s anchor customers, and Eutelsat, which has accompanied TVN’s growth since the 1990s. It will support […]
Israel satellite operator Spacecom has a new majority owner in Hungaro DigiTel (HDT). A joint subsidiary of 4iG PLC (75 per cent) and Antenna Hungária (25 per cent), Hungaro DigiTel has entered into a final agreement with Spacecom to acquire a 51 per cent stake in the company. Spacecom, listed on the Tel Aviv Stock […]
Video cord-cutting is expected to strip nearly $33.6 billion (€29.6bn) in annual revenue from traditional US multichannel services in the five-year outlook, according to analysis from Kagan. The impact of the migration of consumers from big subscription services, according to Kagan’s latest forecast for cable, direct broadcast satellite and telco multichannel revenue, is charting a […]
Steve Collar, CEO at SES, speaking at the Satellite Innovation conference in Mountain View, California, told delegates that consolidation in the industry was more likely than ever. But that the structure of the industry could hinder any such deals. He stressed that the industry was in a really good place, adding that innovation was greater […]
The UAE government has instructed Abu Dhabi-based Yahsat to study market demand and to assess the need for two new satellites which could launch in 2026. The UAE, via Al Yah (Yahsat) already operates Al Yah 1 and Al Yah 2 and the potential of two new craft Al Yah 4 and Al Yah 5. […]
Patrick Drahi might not have William Shatner in his portfolio of headline-grabbing assets, and rich as he is, Drahi certainly cannot compete with the likes of Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos in terms of cash-at-hand. But few will be surprised if Drahi doesn’t now come up with a Plan B to acquire Eutelsat. Certainly his […]
SES and Sirius TV are working to beam DTH channels to Smart Digital International, the Malaysian DTH operator. The broadcaster has signed a multi-year contract with SES to deliver a new bouquet of satellite TV channels across Malaysia. Terms were not revealed. The Sirius Basic subscription package launched on October 1st with 13 initial channels, […]