Focus: Broadcasting

[Satellite Today 02-12-09] NDS has deployed a complete end-to-end pay-TV broadcast system for Cignal Digital TV, a new DTH platform in the Philippines, the company announced Feb. 11. The country is potentially one of the most lucrative pay-TV markets in Asia with a population of over 95 million people. Mediascape is running the Cignal Digital...

Canal Digital lost 12,000 DTH subscribers in the quarter to the end of December. This was one of the highlights of Telenor’s latest set of results issued Feb. 11. Canal Digital is one of the main pay-TV providers in the Nordic region. Its main DTH rival is Viasat, which is owned by the Modern Times...

[Satellite Today 02-12-09] The Russian Satellite Communications Company (RSCC) has been boosted by the successful launch of the Express AM44 and Express-MD1 satellites, the company said Feb. 11. The two satellites were launched onto target orbit by a Proton-M rocket and taken under control by a RSCC satellite mission control center. At present, RSCC, via...

[Satellite Today 02-11-09] Solaris Mobile is getting ready to launch live mobile video demonstrations in Europe, the company said Feb. 9. The company, a joint venture between SES Astra and Eutelsat Communications, will give live mobile television broadcasting demonstrations at the Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona, which starts Feb. 16.     Solaris will...

[Satellite Today 02-11-09] Austar, the Australian satellite pay-TV operator, is ready to support relief efforts in Australia after fires tore through parts of the country. The operator, said Feb. 10, that it will provide on-the-ground and financial support to communities impacted by the fires.     Tens of thousands of Austar subscribers are in affected areas...

[Satellite Today 02-10-09] BSkyB is the big winner in the latest U.K. Premier League soccer rights auction, which concluded Feb. 6. The satellite pay-TV operator won five out of the six packages on offer. Setanta won the other package. In the previous auction, BSkyB had won four packages of rights compared to Setanta’s two, so...

[Satellite Today 02-10-09] Spacenet has announced details of a collaboration with a leading NASCAR racing team. Spacenet said, Feb. 9. that its Connexstar satellite communications services have been deployed to support command center trailers for Michael Waltrip Racing, a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide Series racing organization. The system was deployed by Spacenet channel...

[Satellite Today 02-10-09] AsiaSat has signed a C-Band capacity deal with Fashion TV (FTV), the company announced Feb. 9. The deal is for C-band capacity on AsiaSat 2 to launch FTV HD, the new HD channel by FTV, in Asia. Broadcast of FTV HD has commenced on AsiaSat 2. The channel will be able to...

[Satellite News 02-10-09] The closure of the GTV satellite pay-TV service is a huge blow to the nascent sub-Saharan Africa pay-TV market. GTV was one of the first low-cost pay-TV services to launch in the region. The service was launched in July 2007, and when Satellite News spoke to the then GTV president Julian McIntyre...

Newtec CEO Serge Van Herck hailed the company’s prospects in the Middle East after the company announced that it is playing a key role in a new advanced broadcast network in the Middle East  – MENOS (Multimedia Exchange Network over Satellite). The network recently launched, sees Newtec team up with the Arab States Broadcasting Union...