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.
Space Systems/Loral (SS/L), one of the world’s most important satellite builders, has been hit with a lawsuit alleging patent infringements. The plaintiff is ViaSat, a California-based satellite services operator best known for its WildBlue broadband-by-satellite businesses. The writ argues that SS/L used ViaSat-originated technologies in other satellites without ViaSat’s knowledge or approval. ViaSat says that […]
SES and Eutelsat, Europe’s two satellite giants, are again arguing over the size of their organisations. A few days ago Eutelsat proudly claimed it was now carrying more than 4,000 channels. Today (February 3rd), up pops a press release from SES reminding us that they are carrying more than ,5200 channels, of which more than […]
For the best part of 50 years, the International Telecommunications Union has employed a system whereby satellite operators logged their plans to occupy orbital slots with the ITU under a structured and open system of ‘filings’ in a Master Register. If there is more than one filing, then the applicants form an orderly queue under […]
Some readers might remember VOOM, an all-HDTV broadcasting system that was something of a pioneer in backing high-definition TV. It launched initially with 21 channels in 2003 on its own satellite (Rainbow-1). VOOM was backed by Charles ‘Chuck’ Dolan, but a split in the Cablevision boardroom and a row between various members of the Dolan […]
BSkyB has a cheeky habit of under-promising and over-delivering on its results. It isn’t such a bad habit, but often catches out the analysts. Sky’s half-year numbers, revealed on January 31st, declared 6 per cent revenue growth to £3.4 billion, EBITA growth up 16 per cent and Earnings per Share up 20 per cent. Hard […]
BSkyB unveils its Q2 numbers on January 31st, and most observers see continued progress for the broadcaster, although with net TV subscriber additions being somewhat less than this same time last year. Investment banker Morgan Stanley forecasts net TV subs growing by 69,000 (140,000 this time last year). This slower growth might also affect HD […]
The EBU has called on delegates at the World Radiocommunication Conference at the ITU in Geneva to draft a treaty to tackle the issue of ‘Satellite uplink jamming’ – basically when states block transmissions to prevent messages getting out, or unwelcome signals coming in. Satellite uplink jamming contravenes Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of […]
Ofcom, the UK media regulator, says that the 2012 London Olympic Games will be the largest media event ever held on the plant. They expect the games to host around 26,000 print and broadcasting journalists and their technical teams. Indeed, Ofcom suggests that handling the demands of 26,000 journalists presents the organisers with a “unique […]
BSkyB will unveil its mid-year results (to December 31st) on January 31st. Another investment bank analyst has forecast that the pay-TV operator’s subs growth will stumble for its second quarter (to December 31st). Bank of America Merrill Lynch, in a note to clients, says it expects BSkyB to show a net subs growth of 55,000 […]
Mediaset’s vice chairman, Pier Silvio Berlusconi, says Italy’s planned auction of six new digital terrestrial frequencies is “wrong and unfair”. Berlusconi, son of Italy’s former Prime Minister, said similar DTT frequencies in the rest of Europe had been awarded without fees. He told Italian news daily La Stampa: “An auction would not only be wrong […]
Survey: 45% say streaming experience is “overwhelming”
Data: Ad-supported subscriptions hit record high in UK
France: M6, TF1 partner with Amazon on targeted ads
Spain: Movistar Plus regains momentum
Research: Familiar IP key to driving kids’ consumption on Netflix
MPs express concern over BBC editorial standards
Survey: Consumers increasingly engaging across cinema and digital
Data: Streaming subscriptions reach 91% of US internet homes
Samsung hit with $191m patent fine
Rouge named Eutelsat CFO