Focus: Broadcasting

[Via Satellite 04-03-2014] Israel-based NovelSat is offering to provide broadcasters with free bandwidth, per se, through its newest product: FreeBand. According to NovelSat CEO Itzik Wulkan, the product enables live video over satellite contribution and distribution networks by using unique satellite transmission and band reuse technology. FreeBand is targeted toward broadcasters that lease additional bandwidth...

[Via Satellite 04-03-2014] Azerbaijani satellite operator Azercosmos has signed an agreement with Ukrainian company Ukrkosmos to broadcast a package of Ukrainian TV channels via its Azerspace 1 satellite. The package will consist of news and entertainment channels that will be broadcast over regions of Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East. The Azerspace 1 satellite...

[Via Satellite 04-02-2014] Eutelsat Communications’ satellites will be a core component of the broadcast infrastructure mobilized to deliver live worldwide coverage of the canonization ceremony of Popes John XXIII and Jean Paul II on April 27. The Vatican Television Center (CTV), the broadcasting arm of the Holy See, has selected capacity on nine Eutelsat satellites...

[Via Satellite 04-01-2014] News of talks between Charlie Ergen, chairman of the board of Dish, and Mike White, CEO of DirecTV, fueled a brief rise in the stocks of both companies last week. The news, which Bloomberg brought to light, has reignited discussions on whether a merger is possible. Dish and DirecTV attempted to merge...

[Via Satellite 04-01-2014] RRsat Global Communications Network has been selected as the key delivery partner of DFH Network for North American distribution. This will be the first package to be distributed via RRsat’s fourth platform of the Galaxy 19 (G19) satellite, with revenues expected to exceed $6 million. DFH Network is the premier producer and...

[Via Satellite 03-28-2014] SiriusXM is working with AutoManager to enroll independent franchise dealers in the SiriusXM Pre-Owned Vehicle Program. Auto dealerships that use AutoManager’s DeskManager and WebManager products can enroll in the program for the ability to demonstrate SiriusXM during test drives. Customers that purchase a pre-owned vehicle with a factory-installed satellite radio will receive...

[Via Satellite 03-28-2014] NovelSat has announced the availability of NovelSat FreeBand, a new solution that provides broadcasters with free satellite bandwidth for video contribution. Many broadcasters have to lease satellite bandwidth for their video distribution needs, but also are forced to lease additional bandwidth every time they deploy a remote contribution unit such as DSNGs...

[Via Satellite 03-28-2014] Thaicom will begin broadcasting Digital Terrestrial TV (DTT) system signals on a trial basis in accordance with Thailand’s National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission’s (NBTC) Must Carry rule. With the implementation of this rule, all terrestrial-based digital TV programs must reach every Thai household equipped with compatible devices from April 1. “Thaicom recognizes...

In nearly every executive briefing that Cisco conducts with its commercial broadcast clients, one question keeps popping up: What is the new role of fiber or terrestrial services? “Categorically, we get a

On June 12, more than 100 million viewers in Latin America are expected to tune in for the first game of the 2014 Soccer World Cup taking place in Brazil. The global audience is forecasted to exceed 3 billion