Focus: Broadcasting

Tandberg Television CEO Eric Cooney believes direct-to-home (DTH) operators are faced with difficult decisions when looking at making the transition from MPEG-2 to MPEG- 4. With DTH players leading the way in terms of providing high-definition (HD) services, the pressure is on, particularly as Internet Protocol (IP) TV and cable alternatives are looking to strengthen....

It has been a busy week for U.K. satellite pay-TV operator, BSkyB. Along with being involved in a frenetic auction for English Premier League soccer rights, the operator announced details of an intriguing trial with U.S. wireless technology vendor Qualcomm to test mobile content delivery technology. The two companies will conduct technical trials of Qualcomm’s...

Ka-band, long struggling to attract a market, looks to be attracting new customers thanks to a growing menu of services. Applications enterprise and government high-speed data services to consumer two-way broadband and high-definition TV (HDTV) are being provided via an increasing number of Ka-band payloads, with operators in Japan and North America leading the way....

Eutelsat‘s results have been met with favourable results by analysts who believe the company has performed strongly in recent periods. The operator reported revenues of 590 million euros ($745.2 million) in the nine-month period which ended March 31, an increase of 5 percent compared to revenues of about 562 million euros ($709.9 million) in the...

High-end, expensive satellite news gathering (SNG) trucks are facing stiff low-cost competition these days, as satellite service providers and equipment manufacturers market faster, better, and cheaper solutions. In doing so, these cut-rate competitors are opening up the SNG market to smaller stations, and attracting news users from the military and emergency services communities. A case...

Satellite pay-TV operators throughout Europe are facing more competition in the digital TV space. As well as competing against revitalized cable operators who are beginning to offer services such as video on demand, the competition from Internet Protocol (IP) TV also is increasing. While the cable threat has existed for years, the emergence of telcos...

XMSR The stock of XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. took a small stumble after the company posted a wider first quarter loss and reveled that the U.S. government is investigating XM’s billing and marketing practices. XM added 569,000 net new subscribers in the first quarter of 2006, bringing the company’s total subscriber base to 6.5...

By Gerry Oberst Participants discussed who would be the winners and losers in the switch from analog to digital television at the "European Switchover Strategies 2006" conference in Brussels in March. The challenges of shifting a large part of the European population from traditional analog over-the-air television to new digital formats was a major focus...

By Peter J. Brown Robust, appealing and affordable Ka-band solutions are attracting new customers thanks to a growing menu of services. Applications ranging from enterprise and government high- speed data services to consumer two-way broadband and high-definition TV (HDTV) are being provided via an increasing number of Ka-band payloads, with operators in Japan and North...

Tivo Inc. looks to be riding high following it win of a patent claim against satellite TV provider Echostar, but the direct-to-home operator is not conceding defeat just yet. A Texas jury awarded Tivo more than $73 million April 13 in its digital video recorder (DVR) patent infringement suit against Echostar Communications Corp., driving Tivo’s...