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.
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 […]
US pay-TV broadcaster DirecTV was upgraded by investment analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein to an “outperform” rating in a note issued to investors on January 11th. Recently, analysts at Wunderlich reiterated their “buy” rating on shares of DirecTV in a research note to investors on Wednesday, December 14th. They now have a $60.00 price target […]
With the all-important CES show opening in Vegas there will be plenty of eyeballs watching for electronics giant Sony’s latest announcements, and whether non-product news confirms what’s happening at the top of the troubled company. One big question is whether Sony will continue its retreat from the TV manufacturing business. There are question marks over […]
Satellite launch provider Arianespace says it will break-even for its 2011 activity, and has a record 13 cargoes planned for 2012, helped by a new fleet of launch vehicles. This year will see seven launches by the heavy lifter Ariane 5, the workhorse of the fleet. Five will be launched by the medium-sized Soviet-Russian space […]
A January 3rd report covered by BBC Monitoring says that recent Chinese clamp downs on entertainment and variety shows enforced by the Chinese media regulator (SARFT) has seen two-thirds of the shows vanish from viewer’s screens. Some 34 satellite channels are affected according to the country’s top broadcasting watchdog. Out have gone talent contents, talk […]
From time to time our editorial staff has wished to recognise a major achievement in our industry. We talk amongst ourselves about some major accomplishments during the year, and this is the result: The year’s Top 5 most notable activities recognised. They might not be the Oscars or the Emmys, but they are no less […]
Cameron backs Paramount in WBD acquisition
Adria News Network launches
Viaplay scores EFL Championship rights in Nordics
Sky News Australia rebranding as News24
DirecTV adds Apple TV’s Formula 1
The Traitors hits 40 international commissions
Burnley FC launches docuseries on X
TheViewPoint rebrands to Upstream
Mega Movie Weekend returns for half-term
Channel 4 launches Content Creatives+ development scheme