Focus: Broadcasting

Eutelsat Communications entered into a master service agreement with Strong Roots Ethiopia Broadcasting Service for Ku-band capacity on a 36 MHz transponder on Eutelsat’s EUTELSAT 8 West B satellite. The capacity will enable Strong Roots to launch a new, free to air Direct-to-Home (DTH) platform covering Ethiopia as well as Ethiopian diaspora in zones within...

Azercosmos has signed a broadcasting agreement with Canada’s Prime African Media Systems, a telecommunications company providing satellite solutions and teleport services. According to the agreement announced Tuesday, Prime African Media Systems will broadcast ATN TV in the West African region using the capacity of Azerspace-2 satellite.  Azercosmos provides broadcast and broadband services to customers in...

Eutelsat Communications and CANAL+ signed a multi-year, multi-transponder contract for Ku-band capacity on EUTELSAT 7C to support CANAL+’s Direct-to-Home (DTH) platform launch in Ethiopia at the beginning of 2021. Leveraging EUTELSAT 7C’s incremental capacity dedicated to Ethiopia, CANAL+ will launch a DTH pay-TV platform, offering 50 channels in a mix of standard and high definition,...

Optus extended its partnership with Foxtel, with an extension for the provision of satellite services until 2031. Foxtel is a media company, while Optus Satellite owns and operates Australia and New Zealand’s largest fleet of spacecraft with five satellites currently in Geostationary Orbit (GEO) that service broadcast, corporate, and government customers. Foxtel and Optus have...

Arianespace has confirmed that it will launch its next three satellites on an expanded Ariane 5 rocket from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou at approximately 5:29 p.m. Tuesday, July 28. This mission will take three critical spacecraft into orbit. The satellites to be launched are: Japan’s BSAT-4b, built by Maxar; Intelsat‘s Galaxy 30 UHD...

SES launched a Free-to-Air (FTA) satellite channel delivering reliable, informative content about COVID-19. The channel – Fight COVID-19 – broadcasts content that is aimed at providing underserved and rural communities with critical information about how to limit the spread of the virus. The content is provided by organizations such as UNICEF and AFP as well...

BBC Studios (BBCS) and its subsidiary UKTV have awarded SES a multi-year contract to manage the playout and distribution of over 50 linear channels, and associated Video on Demand (VOD) services, SES announced on July 8.  SES is set to provide playout, content processing, distribution, and VOD services, delivering BBCS and UKTV content to United...

Sky Perfect JSAT (JSAT) is considering a long-term play in several new markets, including the Earth Observation (EO) and data analytics markets, JSAT Executive Officer and Group President of Global Business Mitsutoshi Akao told Via Satellite. JSAT, Asia’s largest satellite operator based in Japan, is working closely with U.S.-based imagery analytics companies Planet and Orbital...

Intelsat and SES both filed their C-band spectrum transition plans with the FCC last week on June 19. The operators are working to meet the FCC’s accelerated clearing timeline to clear 100 megahertz of mid-band spectrum for commercial 5G deployment by the end of 2021, and another 180 megahertz two years later. The operators will...

SES has selected Northrop Grumman and The Boeing Company, to deliver four new satellites as part of the company’s accelerated C-band clearing plan.  The satellite operator announced Tuesday that Northrop Grumman will deliver two GeoStar-3 satellites, SES-18 and SES-19, which will be designed, assembled, and tested in Dulles, Virginia. Boeing will deliver two all-electric 702SP...