Focus: Broadcasting

Intelsat Ltd. completed its acquisition of Panamsat Holding Corp., July 3 and will spend the next 18 months fine-tuning the operations of what is now the largest provider of Fixed Satellite Services around the globe. The new Intelsat will operate a combined fleet of 51 satellites as well as own eight teleports and have fiber...

By Gerry Oberst Just as the satellite radio sector in the United States seems to be gaining strength, regulators in the United Kingdom seem to want to sell the spectrum out from under any similar type of service in Europe. At the end of March, the U.K. Office of Communications (Ofcom) issued a consultation paper...

High-definition (HD) TV remains one of the hottest talking points among European digital television markets. HD developments in Europe have trailed that the United States and Asia, but with consumer interest piqued by the World Cup this month, HD content providers and distributors must focus their efforts on capitalizing on the momentum generated by the...

By Owen D. Kurtin The role that Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) by Internet Protocol (IP) is likely to play in the satellite industry has been a constant topic of industry discussion. We now speak about DVB and IPTV the way we spoke about broadband in 2002. Is the fuss justified? Probably. DVB is an open...

In a significant high-definition (HD) TV deal, Rainbow Media Holdings LLC has signed a deal with Sky HD to launch a number of Voom HD programming brands in Korea. The deal is the first one for Voom outside of the United States and Canada. Greg Moyer, general manager of Voom HD Networks, told Satellite News...

In the highly competitive French pay-TV market, satellite operator Canalsat likely will lead the way in bringing high-definition (HD) services to customers. The operator, which is in the midst of merging with fellow direct-to-home operator TPS, is planning to offer its main premium channels on HD in the near future, according to Guy Lafarge, executive...

The 2006 first quarter proved to be a tough one for European satellite pay-TV operators in terms of trying to grow their subscriber bases. Several of the operators have lost subscribers in the first three months of the year. In our quarterly round up of satellite pay-TV operators in Europe, we examine the performance of...

The competition between satellite pay-TV operators in Poland already is intense and the pay-TV market as a whole is being stoked even more by the growing presence of cable services. Satellite operators Canal+ (Cyfra) Polska and Polsat have about 1.5 million subscribers between them in a country in a population of close to 40 million,...

Intelsat, PA Intelsat Ltd. and Panamsat have planned debt offerings in connection with Intelsat’s planned acquisition of Panamsat Holding Corp., the companies announced. Intelsat will offer $1.9 billion in senior notes due 2013 and 2016, while Panamsat Holding will offer about $725 million of senior notes due 2016 and Panamsat Corp. intends to offer approximately...

By Nick Mitsis Terrestrial networks such as Ancillary Terrestrial Components (ATC) can enhance availability, efficiency and economic viability of Mobile Satellite Services (MSS) by reusing at least some of the frequency bands that are allocated to cellular systems. Without ATC, it may be challenging for MSS operators to reliably serve densely populated areas because the...