Focus: Broadcasting

Mobile TV is seen as one of the great new market opportunities for satellite players. With users demonstrating a seemingly insatiable desire for video and wanting content on demand, the mobile TV market could be a lucrative one. However, issues with standards and formats, as well as working out the correct business models mean this...

[Satellite Today 12-31-08] Arabsat has signed a contract with Al-Jazeera to broadcast The Gulf Cup 2009 in HD, Arabsat announced Dec. 29.     The broadcast of the event, set to take place in Masqat, Amman Jan. 4-17, will cover Arab nations including those in North Africa.     Khalid Balkheyour, Arabsat president and CEO, said that...

[Satellite Today 12-31-08] RRsat Global Communications Network has partnered with CB Networks to launch a free-to-air satellite television broadcast channel over the North American region for Office de la Radio et Television du Mali (ORTM), Mali’s national public broadcasting authority, ORTM announced Dec. 23.     The channel’s mostly French programming schedule includes news, sports, art...

[Satellite News 12-30-08] The satellite industry was largely shielded from the full impact of the global recession in 2008 and some companies posted record-setting yearly profits, a majority of executives told Satellite News.     However, when asked about their outlook for 2009, many of them admitted that sustaining their economic stability would be a challenge....

[Satellite Today 12-29-08] Arianespace has been chosen by Egyptian operator Nilesat to launch the Nilesat 201 satellite, Arianespace announced Dec. 23.     The launch contract comes as part of a turnkey contract that Thales Alenia Space signed with Nilesat.     Nilesat 201 will be placed into geostationary transfer orbit by an Ariane 5 or Soyuz...

[Satellite Today 12-23-08] SES News Skies has signed a new capacity deal with TV Record, a Brazilian broadcaster, the company announced Dec. 23.     TV Record has selected SES New Skies’ NSS-806 and NSS-7 satellites for the distribution of its international and domestic channel line-up.     Under the multi-year agreement, TV Record will also use...

[Satellite Today 12-23-08] Harmonic has reached an agreement to acquire Scopus Video Networks, a global provider of digital video networking solutions, Harmonic announced Dec. 23.     Under the terms of the agreement, Harmonic will pay $5.62 in cash for each outstanding share of Scopus, representing an enterprise value of approximately $51 million, net of Scopus’...

[Satellite News 12-22-08] SES Americom will stop offering its IPTV service in North America by mid-2009. IP-Prime had been a key part of the operator’s strategy to tap into the growing IPTV market in the United States, however, with telcos, particularly smaller- and medium-sized operators, finding the TV market a tough place to build a...

[Satellite Today 12-22-08] Pixelmetrix, a preventive monitoring service for digital television and IPTV networks, received its first order for the Electronic Couch Potato (EC) and ECP Consolidator from an unnamed major IPTV operator in Europe, Pixelmetrix announced Dec. 19.     The ECP measures and reports end-users’ experiences with delivered video services. Integral elements include telemetry...

[Satellite Today 12-19-08] Austar United Communications, the Australian satellite pay-TV operator, has initiated a share repurchase program, the company announced Dec. 19.     Earlier this year Austar repurchased 46.3 million shares between April and June, As a result, the maximum number of shares that could be purchased by Austar between now and the end of...