Chris Forrester is one of the most experienced and highly regarded journalists in the field. His insight and analysis, particularly in the satellite and pay-TV arena, is highly prized. He has written for all the major business journals in the sector as well as several national newspapers.
The long-awaited launch of SpaceX’s Falcon-9 rocket and its maiden flight of a commercial cargo in the shape of the SES-8 satellite was effected flawlessly at 17.41 Florida time on December 4. SES-8 was placed into its geostationary transfer orbit just 31 minutes after launch. The satellite will now be placed alongside the existing NSS-6 […]
SpaceX will make its third attempt to launch the SES-8 satellite during the evening of December 3rd. SpaceX says it has fully inspected the rocket’s engines and all “known rocket anomalies resolved,” according to SpaceX’s founder and CEO Elon Musk in a Twitter message. However, SpaceX has swapped out a gas generator that powered one […]
SpaceX’s third attempt to launch the SES-8 satellite could take place on the evening of December 2nd. The Thursday launch abort was blamed on oxygen being present in or near a component, but means that one of the rocket’s turbopump gas generators will need to be cleaned. SpaceX, in a statement said: “The rocket engines […]
SpaceX again scrubbed a planned launch of SES-8 on the evening of Thanksgiving Day, November 28th in what is turning out to be a nail-biting exercise and far from stress-free for all involved. SpaceX also cancelled a launch for the satellite three days earlier on November 25th. The blame was placed on a triple set […]
A report from banker Berenberg asks whether BT Sport can win BSkyB’s glittering prize, the upcoming auction for the English Premier League. “BT,” says the bank, “in buying exclusivity to UEFA’s Champions League and Europa League football coverage, has made a statement. While it is publicly happy to be seen as number two in the […]
There’s little doubt that all broadcasters are seeking higher carriage deals from cable MSOs, but Time Warner’s CFO John Martin spelt out the specific targets at the Morgan Stanley TMT conference in Barcelona last week. “We fully intend to monetise the meaningful amount of investments that we’ve been making over a series of years in […]
I’m not quite sure what the collective noun might be for a crowded full room of financial analysts, perhaps a ‘pack’ (with apologies to the Hyenas and dogs) might do, but whatever the term, there was standing room only at Morgan Stanley’s TMT conference on this week when BSkyB’s CEO Jeremy Darroch responded to questions. […]
The upper part of New Zealand’s North Island is going dark, as far as analogue terrestrial TV is concerned, on November 30th. This includes the cities of Auckland, Northland and the region around the Bay of Plenty, and is the last part of New Zealand to switch to all-digital TV. According to local press reports […]
Dish TV’s founder and CEO Charlie Egren is again making a pitch that his pay-TV business should merge with arch-rival DirecTV. “There’s obviously a business case that [consolidation] makes a lot of sense in the satellite industry,” Ergen, the billionaire chairman and founder of Dish Network, told analysts on the company’s Q3 earnings call. “Whether […]
A proposed merger between two of India’s giant DTH players, Reliance Digital TV and Sun Direct has been called off. Reportedly the talks, only ever at a ‘preliminary stage’ broke down but there were differences over the valuation of the two businesses in regards to their eventual share of the merged company. The initial plans […]
Spain: Prime Video leads streaming services
Analysis: TV plays vital role in shaping brand trust
British Airways signs Starlink deal
Survey: US seniors more confident on connected devices
Caracol Mix FAST channel on ScreenHits TV
Report: Europe’s TV market resurges due to digital shift
Netflix: “Our ads reach 190m+ viewers”
WBD adds 2.3m streaming subs in Q3
BT signs Starlink connectivity deal; H1 revenue dips
SES revenue up 20%; shares crash