Advanced Television

Inside Satellite

Chris Forrester

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.

Success for Proton/ILS rocket

The past few months have been tough for International Launch Services (ILS) and its Russian –built Proton rocket. A launch failure, plus numerous delays and the CEO’s departure have not helped the system’s reputation. Last night that gloom was lifted when a Proton rocket successfully orbited Mexico’s Satmex 8 craft in a flawless launch. The […]

March 27, 2013

Egypt lifts satellite ban

Egypt’s Administrative Court has defied the country’s government and issued an order that in effect lifts the rules on censorship previously in place and which had resulted in many channels being banned. The court explained in its detailed verdict that censorship is not within the jurisdiction of the Media Minister or others, pointing out that […]

March 25, 2013

Boeing stirs interest in new bird

Boeing’s giant space division says that its new 702SP satellite, which uses sophisticated all-electric propulsion, is capturing significant interest from the world’s satellite operators. Exactly a year ago, it surprised the market with news that it had secured a four-satellite order for the 702SP model from Asia Broadcast Satellite and Mexico’s SatMex. At the Satellite […]

March 20, 2013

Proton failures force ILS to trim prices

International Launch Services (ILS), which is the US-based marketing arm of the Baikonur, Kazakhstan rocket launching operation, has been forced to cut prices to its customers following worries over insurance costs. The news emerged at the Satellite 2013 conference in Washington, where ILS’ recently appointed president and CEO Phillip Slack said that the three Proton […]

March 19, 2013

FiOS forcing rethink on cable bundle fees?

There could be a major restructuring of cable carriage fees in store. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Verizon is already in discussions with some channel owners about adjusting their fees to more accurately reflect viewing audiences to its FiOS digital service. The argument is that some channels, and the WSJ specifically lists the […]

March 18, 2013

Pope boosts Eutelsat with news demand

Eutelsat has, so far, sold more than 700 hours of extra capacity for news links from Rome, helped by the election of Pope Francis. The satellite operator described the demand for extra capacity as “intense” and spread over 5 of its satellites. Eutelsat says demand for capacity accelerated when the College of Cardinals began deliberation […]

March 15, 2013

Harrods goes 4K and OLED crazy

Harrods, the iconic London department store, is awash with OLED and 4K displays. Its street windows are showcasing LG’s latest 55” OLED ultra-thin display – a snip at £10,000 (€11,500) a time – while its electronics department has another pair of the beasts on display, and available for pre-ordering. Harrods sales staff say they “are […]

March 10, 2013

India government criticises MSOs

India’s government has dismissed critics of its TV digitalisation plan, including those who say that a new set-top box tax will damage the process. India’s powerful Information & Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry says that the nation’s MSOs have more than 2.2 million set-top boxes in stock, with a similar amount already procured, mostly from China and […]

March 8, 2013By Chris Forrester

Meltdown at the UK’s YouView

Things were already bad at YouView, the UK’s struggling on-demand TV service, but there was complete meltdown on February 28th when the operation’s Chairman, Lord Alan Sugar (who fronts the UK’s version of The Apprentice reality TV show) and the owner of Channel 5, Richard Desmond reportedly came to near fisticuffs during a regular board […]

March 3, 2013

Eutelsat and Deutsche Telekom settle sat-dispute

Eutelsat has been arguing with Deutsche Telekom over certain satellite assets at 28.5 degrees (which is the location used to beam hundreds of TV channels into the UK and Ireland).  The dispute has been settled. The argument has been the subject of arbitration proceedings before the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris, and the result […]

February 28, 2013