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.
Eutelsat’s giant KaSat satellite was successfully launched from Kazakhstan on Dec 26th (at 21.51 GMT). The satellite was scheduled for separation from the rocket some 9 hours after lift-off. The Astrium-built satellite, weighing more than six tonnes, will then require some weeks of in-orbit testing ahead of going live for operational purposes. Kasat is unique […]
Intelsat’s rogue satellite, Galaxy-15, might go dark towards the end of the month. Galaxy-15 has been drifting steadily – but uncontrollably – since April when a solar flare is thought to have damaged the craft’s on-board systems. However, the satellite’s collection and re-transmission function has remain firmly active and has thus been of considerable […]
A Proton-M rocket that failed to launch 3 GPS satellites on December 5 could have been too heavy, say local investigators. The rocket crashed into the Pacific Ocean destroying its important cargo, and forcing Russian officials to suspend all Proton launches while they determine what went wrong. Russia’s Interfax news agency reported that one theory […]
On December 7th a Russian Proton rocket suffered a serious malfunction and three satellites it was carrying tumbled into the Pacific Ocean after launch. The Glonass satellites would have served Russia’s GPS navigation. A formal Board of Inquiry has been set up to determine the cause of the failure. However, this will take some […]
Eutelsat, as expected, has ordered a replacement for the failed W3B satellite which failed to orbit on Oct 28. Thales Alenia will build W3D in near-record time, just 24 months, which is speedy for a 56-transponder craft. The order and rapid build commitment means the new satellite should be on station at 7 degrees […]
UK-based satellite services specialist Arqiva is going through some internal changes, with existing CEO Tom Bennie stepping down once a new CEO is found, and seeing Nick Thompson looking after its newly merged terrestrial broadcast, satellite & media division (and Steve Holebrook running mobile, government & enterprise). Thompson now says that with solid revenue numbers […]
Three weeks from now, just before the Christmas holiday, will see a Russian rocket launching Eutelsat’s Ka-Sat, a wonderful piece of satellite engineering complexity that will provide copious two-way broadband connectivity to Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. At 6.1 tonnes in weight it is one of the heaviest satellites ever launched and will […]
Eutelsat’s glittering Hot Bird prizes were awarded to a slew of channels in Venice, some well-established and some fairly new to the world of satellite transmission. Founded in 1998, this event was the 13th in the series “and is now a healthy teenager,” said Eutelsat chairman Giuliano Berretta. “We congratulate the men and women generating […]
Sales of flat-panel TVs at Japan’s electronics stores during the second week of November (8th-14th) increased by almost 600 per cent compared with the same period a year earlier, as consumers rushed to the stores to beat the cut-down of the government’s subsidy program for the purchase of eco-friendly home appliances. Data from market research […]
Hot on the heels of last month’s decisions to drop more than a dozen Arabic channels from Nilesat comes news that some 25 Iraqi channels are threatened with closure because they are unlicensed. BBC Monitoring is reporting that a senior Iraqi official in the Communications and Media Commission has threatened to shut down the channels. […]
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