On February 25th a Northrop Grumman-built ‘Mission Extension Vehicle’ (MEV) successfully mated with Intelsat 901 and performed a Space Tug rescue mission, and gave the potential zombie satellite another five years of valuable life in orbit. The move seems to have impressed the US Government’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) which has selected Northrop […]
Analyst Sami Kassab at investment bank Exane/BNPP has reported more details on the FCC’s March 3rd Order regarding the reallocation of C-band frequencies over the US. Kassab has ploughed through the 220 pages, plus endless footnotes, and says there are other benefits for the key satellite operators. As this is written, however, there remains uncertainty […]
The FCC issued its formal Order and Public Notices on March 3rd as to how the C-band auction will be managed and the implications for the affected satellite operators. The 406-item Order is crammed full with legal precedents, but little appears to have changed from the Draft Order issued in February. The proposed ‘incentive’ payments […]
Findings from analyst firm Leichtman Research Group suggest that the largest pay-TV providers in the US – representing about 95 per cent of the market – lost about 4,915,000 net video subscribers in 2019, compared to a pro forma loss of about 1,585,000 subscribers in 2018. The top pay-TV providers account for 86.2 million subscribers […]
A report to clients by investment bank Exane/BNPP states that the company’s decision to cut by 50 per cent its dividend to shareholders (to €0.40) looks like a “draconian measure”. Sami Kassab, Exane’s satellite analyst, issued an “outperform” rating on SES based on the pretty miserable closing price on March 2nd at €7.26 – and […]
Normally the annual Washington DC satellite show is a major event in the industry’s calendar. Normally, the best-attended session is the regular ‘Global Satellite Operator’ panel of CEO’s (on March 10th). But Satellite 2020 has been badly affected by recent events within the industry. Privately, most CEOs will tell you that the panel is “one […]
SES CEO Steve Collar, speaking exclusively to Advanced Television, says that while the company is waiting for the FCC’s final text of its Order in regard to C-band, he was confident that the core terms outlined by the FCC would stay in place, and that SES could totally meet its obligations. He said he was […]
Investment bank Jefferies issued its report on the SES results and advised investors to “read between the lines”. While admitting that the day “was painful” for the company, analyst Giles Thorne added: “In our view, [the day] will be looked upon in time as the day SES signalled structural solutions to its structural problems, namely: […]
SES has reported revenues “in line” with financial expectations, but the numbers showed that group revenues fell 1.3 per cent. SES announced that its “A” general class shareholder Dividend would be 40 euro-cents per share, a fall of 50 per cent on last year. It is its A class shares that are held by the […]
China’s StarTimes Media is adding six TV channels for its subscribers in Kenya. Aldrine Nsubuga, regional marketing director of StarTimes, says the introduction of National Geographic, National Geographic Wild, ESPN, ESPN 2, Fox and Fox Life will enhance the pool of relevant and entertaining content which will be available to both the terrestrial and satellite […]