Focus: Broadcasting

Car radios used to be simple, as listeners searched for AM broadcasts by twisting a knob until they found the right frequency. High-end radios featured buttons you could preset to your favorite stations, thought you were limited to your local radio options. The marriage of car radio and satellite technology has transformed these once simple...

The proposed merger of Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio may make perfect business sense to the two companies, but if they hope to convince federal regulators that the combination should be allowed to take place, XM and Sirius may first have to remind them which year it is. A February hearing before the...

If Fleet Street rumors prove correct, BSkyB is headed for a four-way battle for Pipex Communications, a major player among the United Kingdom’s telecoms market. With nearly 1.1 million fixed line customers, almost 600,000 broadband customers, a WiMAX licence and a Web-hosting operation, Pipex is an attractive acquisition target. Bids were expected last week from...

The news that Ofcom has decided to investigate the U.K. pay-TV market has come as a little surprise given the ramping-up of pressure by players such as Virgin Media, however, analysts agree that the review is unlikely to spell huge trouble for BSkyB. Sarah Simon, a media equity analyst at Morgan Stanley pointed out this...

If Sirius Satellite Radio CEO Mel Karmazin is to win the hearts and minds of federal regulators in Washington, he may first have to remind them which year it is. Anachronisms abounded Feb. 28 as Karmazin made his argument before the first hearing held by the House Judiciary Committee Antitrust Task Force, considering whether the...

In June 1997, then-U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Reed Hundt called a hypothetical merger between AT&T and one of the regional Bell operating companies (RBOCs) spun off in the 1984 AT&T divestiture “unthinkable” on antitrust grounds. After all, the structural separation of AT&T’s long distance telephone services and the RBOCs’ local telephone services was...

Satellite-based services support everything from pay TV and cellular phone services to robust broadband and niche VSAT markets throughout Africa. While the market is growing, Africa remains a continent where even more satellite connectivity is needed urgently. The most important goals for the Regional African Satellite Communications Organization (RASCOM) include obtaining “coverage of the entire...

A week after the unveiling of the proposed merger of Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio, consensus about its prospects and possibilities remained muddled as federal officials prepare to consider the application. XM and Sirius announced Feb. 19 a definitive agreement under which the companies would combine in a tax-free, all-stock merger of equals...

There was a flurry of activity among pay-TV players as the week closed in the United Kingdom, with Virgin Media (formerly ntl) announcing its arrival and BSkyB launching a new digital terrestrial television (DTT) initiative. BSkyB announced Feb. 9 its intentions to launch a new subscription service on DTT this summer. The line-up of channels...

While satellite radio has blazed a trail in the United States, it is still amidst its early days in Europe, although there have been one or two significant recent developments. Ondas Media, a new player in the market, led by former SES Astra executive Celso Azevedo, aims to launch satellite radio and multimedia services in...