Focus: Broadcasting

[Satellite TODAY 02-09-10] Swedish broadcasting entertainment company Modern Times Group (MTG) has acquired 50 percent of Raduga Holdings from Continental Media for an undisclosed amount of cash, MTG announced Feb. 8.     The remaining 50 percent interest in Raduga has been retained by Continental Media. The two owners will share management control of Raduga, which...

[Satellite News 02-19-10] Tensions ran high on day one of the Arabsat Broadcasters Forum held in Beirut, Lebanon, as a number of keynote speakers lashed out at perceived U.S. interference over which channels should be carried on Arabsat satellites.     Interference issues came into sharp focus earlier in the year, when U.S. Congress was presented...

[Satellite TODAY 02-08-10] Eutelsat signed a multi-year deal with Telespazio to renew leased capacity on Eutelsat’s Atlantic Bird 1 and W3A satellites, the operator announced Feb. 5. The Italian satellite operator renewed leases on two satellites for professional video contribution services and for broadcasting services directed to RAI, Italy’s national public broadcaster. RAI said permanent...

[Satellite TODAY 02-08-10] Sirius XM Radio has unveiled a free application to access its programming on BlackBerry smartphones, the company announced Feb. 5.     In order to access the service, application users must download the software and subscribe to either Sirius or XM Premium online. Sirius said that licensing issues have prevented talk show host...

[Satellite TODAY 02-05-10] Solaris Mobile signed a corporate partnership with European car rental company Europcar, Solaris announced Feb. 4.     Europcar will install and showcase Solaris’ next-generation communication in a small selection of cars in Paris. Europcar then will equip a handful of cars with TV and radio services either via devices located in the...

[Satellite TODAY 02-05-10] Mobile TV and DTV transmission technology developer TeamCast released a new software version of its DVB-T2 modulator Power4-T2, which supports a T2-MI input stream interface and the single-frequency network (SFN) operating mode, the company announced Feb. 4.     TeamCast said that the Power4-T2 development work involved both the design of the T2-MI...

[Satellite TODAY 02-04-10] EchoStar Satellite Services named Mega Hertz Inc. as an official product reseller under EchoStar’s ViP-TV program, the operator announced Feb. 3.     Mega Hertz, a Texas-based IPTV technology integrator, will market the ViP-TV transport solution to cable systems and telcos. EchoStar’s ViP-TV transport service aims to offer a suite of IPTV services...

[Satellite TODAY 02-04-10] European DTH service provider Sky Italia lost subscribers and operational income in its second fiscal quarter of 2010, the company announced in its financial results, released Feb. 2.     The News Corp.-owned broadcaster reported an operating loss of $30 million during the quarter, which ended in December, representing a decrease of $40...

[Satellite TODAY 02-03-10] Pace Networks has contracted Sao Paulo-based distributor Visionbyte to roll out the Pace MultiDweller distribution platform in Latin America as a networks approved partner, the company announced Feb. 2.     Visionbyte will use MultiDweller to extend the reach of SD and HD services to smaller towns and cities across Brazil. Visionbyte is...

[Satellite TODAY 02-02-10] Oklahoma-based telecoms company BTC Broadband has purchased ViP-TV video transport services from EchoStar to support up to 49 high-definition channels of its IPTV headend, BTC announced Feb. 1.     EchoStar’s IP video transport service will be part of BTC’s integrated video stream network, which includes an IPTV middleware solution providing testing and...