Focus: Broadcasting

[Satellite TODAY Insider 01-13-12] Calgary-based cable television, satellite and media operation Shaw Communications reported a 19 percent, year-over-year increase in consolidated quarterly revenue to $1.28 billion, according to its 2012 fiscal first quarter results issued Jan. 12.    During the three months that ended Nov. 30, Shaw’s satellite division revenue grew by a modest $3...

[Satellite News 01-10-12] Pay-TV operator Dish Network has kicked off 2012 with a slew of service enhancements, offerings and hardware. The company announced Jan. 9 that it signed new contract agreements with ViaSat and Univision Communications, expanded its Blockbuster home entertainment package and rolled out a next-generation HD DVR system.             Dish Network CEO Joe...

[Satellite TODAY Insider 01-10-12] Private equity investment firm Thoma Bravo has completed its acquisition of Telestream, a video transcoding and digital media software solutions, marking Thoma Bravo’s 19th acquisition in the software market.    Telestream confirmed Jan. 9 that co-founder and CEO Dan Castles would continue to serve as CEO for the company post-acquisition.   ...

[Satellite TODAY 01-10-12] Indian broadcast network Raj Television has entered into an agreement with Asia Satellite Telecommunications (AsiaSat) to lease C-band capacity on the AsiaSat 5 satellite, the operator announced Jan. 9.    Raj Television will use the capacity to broadcast a bouquet of 11 satellite TV channels in the Asia-Pacific region.    Raj Television...

[Satellite TODAY 01-09-12] GlobeCast has relocated a group of premium Arabic channels from the Arab States Broadcasting Union (ASBU) to the Arabsat 5C satellite located over Africa, the companies confirmed Jan. 6.    The Global Arabic Bouquet’s (GAB) potential viewership and footprint has expanded since the launch of the partnership between GlobeCast, Arabsat and ASBU...

[Satellite TODAY 01-06-12] SiriusXM Radio ended 2011 with nearly 21.9 million subscribers after adding approximately 540,000 net new subscribers in its 2011 fiscal fourth quarter and 1.7 million new customers for the full year, the satellite radio broadcaster confirmed Jan. 4.    SiriusXM CEO Mel Karmazin said the results, which were based on preliminary subscriber...

[Satellite TODAY 01-06-12] Arqiva has won a contract to distribute the France 24 news channel in the United Kingdom. The company announced Jan. 5 that the five-year deal also includes the provision of multiplexing, uplinking and satellite services to send the channel’s English language feed to the BSkyB and Freesat platforms, as well as to...

[Satellite TODAY 01-05-12] Communications infrastructure and media service company Arqiva has secured a contract renewal to deliver Electronic Program Guide (EPG) data to the Freesat platform, the company announced Jan. 4.    Arqiva will provide dual and redundant multiplexing, uplink and satellite capacity on the Eurobird 1 satellite to ensure constant availability of essential EPG...

[Satellite TODAY 01-05-12] U.S. pay-TV operator DirecTV will raise its rates by an average of 4 percent beginning in February, the company confirmed Jan. 4.    In a statement, DirecTV spokesman Robert Mercer said the new price hike, “reflects the increasing cost of programming and the significant investments we’ve made to enhance our customers’ viewing...

[Satellite News 01-04-12] Greek telco Forthnet made a significant strategic move last November in launching its new Forthnet Satellite Broadband service on Eutelsat’s Ka-Sat satellite. Forthnet Chief Commercial Officer Yiannis Kavaklis told Satellite News that the service launch aims to target about 800,000 customers in Greece that are not served by terrestrial options.     “This...