Focus: Broadcasting

[Via Satellite 06-09-2015] Arqiva, a leading U.K. based communications infrastructure and media services company, expects to see a near-term rise in its domestic satellite capacity needs, but sees compression technology and the increased build-out of fiber slackening demand for satellite elsewhere. David Crawford, managing director of satellite and media at Arqiva, told Via Satellite that...

[Via Satellite 06-09-2015] RR Media has agreed to acquire SatLink Communications for $19 million, subject to certain adjustments. The purchase, which follows the recent acquisition of Eastern Space Systems (ESS), is expected to expand RR Media’s global content distribution network and content management footprint, as well as add significant upper-tier customers. SatLink CEO David Hochner...

[Via Satellite 06-08-2015] SPI International, operator of more than 30 TV channels on four continents, and German broadcaster ANIXE are both planning to display new original Ultra-HD content this week at the Anga Com conference and exhibition in Cologne, Germany on Eutelsat’s Hot Bird 4K1 TV platform. For SPI International, the demo represents the first...

[Via Satellite 06-04-2015] Level 3 is providing deep-edge caching services to Optus Wholesale and Satellite that will enable Optus to locally cache high-demand content on its network. The agreement gives Optus quicker access to content while growing Level 3’s Content Delivery Network (CDN) capacity in Australia by 300 percent. This collaboration enables Optus to offer...

[Via Satellite 06-02-2015] AsiaSat is planning to deploy a dedicated Ultra-HD broadcast platform in the next few months, starting with a C-band transponder on the AsiaSat 4 satellite at 122 degrees east. The platform will be able to deliver two to five full time Ultra-HD channels, which will be transmitted Free-to-Air (FTA). Terrestrial TV stations,...

[Via Satellite 06-02-2015] China’s StarTimes has contracted additional capacity on SES’ SES 5 satellite at 5 degrees east to bolster Direct-to-Home (DTH) services in Africa. StarTimes currently provides English-language DTH content to viewers across the continent and has more than 5 million Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) and DTH subscribers across 26 countries. “We see unprecedented...

[Via Satellite 06-01-2015] BT Group has renewed and expanded services on three Intelsat satellites — Intelsat 10-02 located at 1 degree west, Intelsat 805 at 55.5 degrees west, and Intelsat 19 at 166 degrees east — to distribute programming for BBC World Service. The multi-year, multi-transponder agreement allows BBC World Service to increase its channel line-up...

[Via Satellite 06-01-2015] Thaicom, in partnership with a joint venture between Kantana Group and Intouch Holdings, is launching a second screen platform in Thailand, starting with the TV show Gossip Girl. Channel 3 Television Network, one of Thailand’s largest broadcasters, is licensed to transmit the U.S. show, which will begin airing in early July. The 2nd...

[Via Satellite 05-28-2015] Arianespace successfully launched two satellites for DirecTV on May 27 aboard an Ariane 5 rocket. The mission carried the DirecTV 15 satellite, built by Airbus Defence and Space on the Eurostar E3000 platform, and the Sky Mexico 1 (SKYM 1) satellite built on Orbital ATK’s GEOStar 2 platform. DirecTV plans to use...

[Via Satellite 05-28-2015] KT Skylife, one of South Korea’s top satellite broadcast providers, has deployed Ultra-HD Set-Top-Boxes (STBs) built on Broadcom‘s single-chip High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) 4K/Ultra-HD satellite solution, the BCM7376. The single-chip BCM7376 delivers video at 60 Frames Per Second (FPS) with 10-bit color and four times the resolution of conventional HD displays....