International Launch Services, the commercial arm of the Russian Proton rocket launch system, has delayed the launch of Eutelsat’s latest craft, E-5 West. The delay also represents a delay for Eutelsat’s co-launch passenger, MEV-1. The dual payload launch was due for lift-off on September 30th, but is now delayed while a possible electrical issue is […]
Pay-TV subscribers increased by 26 million in 2018 across 138 countries, according to the Pay-TV Databook from analyst firm Digital TV Research. This took the number of pay-TV subscribers beyond 1 billion. “IPTV added 42 million subscribers in 2018 alone to take its total to 257 million,” noted Simon Murray, Principal Analyst at Digital TV […]
A report from investment bank Exane/BNPP states that its regular Satellite Monitor, just updated and expanded by some 15 per cent to include 1300 channels beams by SES and Eutelsat via more than 70 transponders over sub-Saharan Africa, shows a modest improvement in video capacity and usage. “The Q3/19 edition of our Exane Satellite Monitor […]
A report from Northern Sky Research (NSR, Global Satellite Capacity Supply & Demand) states that despite slow growth in satellite supply and capacity over the past few years, the next ten years will see 1155 satellites (more than 500 kgs in size) likely to be ordered, and some 1285 will be launched. NSR says that […]
Charlie Ergen-backed pay-TV operation DISH Network could be about to merge or consolidate with DirecTV. Numerous reports suggest that with DirecTV haemorrhaging subscribers since its AT&T take-over, a disposal by AT&T with DISH Network being the favoured target. DirecTV has lost 2.5 million subs over the past year. Not helping are allegations that AT&T has […]
When US consumer advice body Consumer Reports asked its members for feedback on their pay-TV, home Internet, and bundled plans, most companies got poor marks for value and many for customer service. A good percentage of people said they were thinking of cancelling their pay-TV contracts with their cable or satellite company, and acknowledged frustration […]
Saudi Arabia-based ArabSat is no longer carrying beouitQ’s pirate satellite transmissions. The satellite signals were removed almost a month ago but may not protect ArabSat for potentially punitive legal actions seeking significant compensation. The news follows a joint investigation by FIFA, the AFC, UEFA, the Bundesliga, La Liga, Lega Serie A, LFP and the Premier […]
Executives at satellite operator SES consider the company well-placed to respond to the changing needs of its customers. Steve Collar, CEO, speaking at a press briefing at IBC 2019 in Amsterdam, said that the operator had the superpower of reach and economics, suggesting that its recent agreement with Microsoft to develop a range of cloud-based […]
Eutelsat Americas, a subsidiary of Eutelsat, has been selected by Orby TV for capacity on the Eutelsat 117 West A satellite. The multi-year, multi-transponder agreement between the companies was announced at IBC 2019 following Orby TV’s recent launch of its new and affordable satellite service across the lower 48 continental United States. Orby TV is […]
A new 4K HDR TV channel, 4KUniverse, is now on air. AsiaSat and 4KUniverse have entered into a multi-year agreement for the distribution via AsiaSat 9 across the Asia-Pacific. 4KUniverse was originally part of AsiaSat’s 4K-SAT UHD demo channel initiated back in 2015, broadcasting a few hours of UHD programming a day. Now, with the […]