Focus: Broadcasting

[Satellite TODAY 06-08-11] Ericsson appointed Per Borgklint senior vice president and head of its multimedia business unit effective immediately, the company announced June 7.     Borgklint, the former CEO of Swedish operator Net1, will join Ericsson’s executive leadership team and be responsible for strengthening the company’s global position within its main focus areas.     Ericsson’s...

[Satellite TODAY 06-07-11] Applied Satellite Technology (AST) has entered into a partnership with Streambox to integrate its ASTLive value-added services suite to Streambox’s live IP-based video contribution service, the companies announced June 6.      AST will offer the integrated service via Inmarsat’s BGAN satellite platform. End-users can download the Streambox Live encoding software free of...

[Satellite TODAY 06-07-11] Content costs are the number one concern for The Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia’s (CASBAA) operators in 2011, with 71.4 percent stating that costs are affecting overall business, according to a recent CASBAA survey of its 24 members issued June 6.     CASBAA’s TV, DTH and IPTV operators across the...

[Satellite News 06-06-11] Pay-TV in Africa has long been slated as a potential growth market for satellite, with low penetration and emerging middle class economies allowing DTH to hit the healthier mass markets of the continent.     One company looking to take advantage of this new demand for service is The Wananchi Group, which aims...

Internet Protocol (IP) is far from perfect, but it has become the central rallying point for global entities, setting in motion the early homogenization of the electronics, telecommunication, electric utility and entertainment industries. The implementation of IP strategies is not new, but aside from a common transmission protocol, what impact will the buildup of IP...

  Trace TV, an urban and tropical music channel provider, is distributed to more than 17 million households in 130 countries around the globe. Trace TV CEO Olivier Laouchez discusses the broadcaster’s plans.   VIA SATELLITE: What is the next phase of your strategy? Laouchez: The road map is clear — make Trace a global...

[Satellite TODAY 05-31-11]  In a major potential piece of consolidation in the Australian satellite market, Foxtel has made an offer to acquire pay-TV rival Austar. Foxtel announced the proposed acquisition May 26.             Foxtel and Austar are the leading providers of satellite TV services in Australia. Austar has around 755,000 subscribers; Foxtel has just above...

[Satellite TODAY 05-27-11] Measat Satellite Systems has signed an agreement with Fox International Channels (FIC) to distribute Fox Family Movies (FFM) HD via the Measat-3/3a HD video distribution platform for viewers across Asia. Measat announced the deal May 26. Currently FIC has 15 HD channels across multiple genres that combined reach more than five million...

[Satellite TODAY 05-27-11] SES Astra has signed its first contract with an Italian broadcaster for DTH services in Italy. The company announced May 25 that Italian TV operator Promosat will use capacity on SES Astra’s 19.2 degrees East orbital position for the FTA transmission of its ABChannel to TV viewers in Italy.             “We are very...

[Satellite TODAY 05-27-11] At the end of 2010, AT&T and Verizon had between them around 6.5 million direct TV subscribers, giving ample evidence of the threat of telcos to both cable and satellite pay-TV providers in the United States. In the first quarter of the year, Verizon added more than 192,000 net new subscribers, and...