Advanced Television

Inside Satellite

Chris Forrester

Chris Forrester is one of the most experienced and highly regarded journalists in the field. His insight and analysis, particularly in the satellite and pay-TV arena, is highly prized. He has written for all the major business journals in the sector as well as several national newspapers.

Collar departure: “Hard to see a positive read”

The normal transition for any departing CEO at a major quoted company is well established. Weeks – and sometimes months – of advanced notice are given to shareholders and the market of an impending change in leadership. That has not happened in the case of Steve Collar, the suddenly outgoing CEO at SES. Collar will […]

June 12, 2023

Dish, DirecTV keen to merge?

Charlie Ergen, the founder and billionaire owner of US pay-TV broadcaster Dish Network, has talked for a couple of years about the “inevitability” of merging with arch-rival DirecTV. Both are losing subscribers at a worrying rate, and common sense suggests that a merger is the only route to saving cash, exploiting synergies and reducing the […]

June 11, 2023

Boeing accused of technology theft

Boeing’s aerospace division is being sued for alleged theft of IP concerning the counterfeiting of highly specialised tools used on NASA projects. The action comes from Colorado-based Wilson Aerospace which is suing Boeing over what Wilson alleges is its ‘Fluid Fitting Torque Device-3’ developed by Wilson, and which Boeing used to attach four main engines […]

June 8, 2023

Analyst: Satellite DTD market worth billions

Analysts at Quilty Space say they estimate the satellite direct-to-device (DTD) market holds the promise of burgeoning into a multibillion-dollar industry. “It comes as no surprise that in the race to equip unmodified smartphones with satellite connectivity, various players are jockeying for position. Who crosses the finish line first, or even who stays in the […]

June 5, 2023

Bank: Rocket Lab value boosted by Virgin Orbit assets

California-based Rocket Lab made headlines a week ago when it bought some key assets from bankrupt Virgin Orbit. Rocket Lab has been awarded Virgin’s 144,000-square-foot Long Beach, California–based manufacturing facility for $16.1 million. That news, plus a fresh launch contract, has given the business a significant lift in its implied value. Analysts from investment bank […]

June 1, 2023

Analyst: “TV Industry consolidation inevitable”

Analysts at SVB MoffettNathanson (MN) recently held their first Media & Internet TMT Conference with a heavyweight portfolio of expert speakers. The consensus was that the broadcasting industry were “relatively optimistic” for advertising demand in the CTV, AVoD and sports-led linear segments. However, speakers were asked about the impact from some network programmers who ‘cheat’ […]

May 31, 2023

Intelsat: ‘Insider trading’ appeal lodged

The Intelsat Class Action into alleged insider trading, which had earlier been dismissed by a District Court judge on April 26th, has seen an appeal lodged. The case revolves around alleged insider trading over the sale of Intelsat shares by certain shareholders including the then chairman Dave McGlade. The sale allegedly took place ahead of […]

May 30, 2023

ESA boss praises SpaceX

Josef Aschbacher, Director General at European Space Agency (ESA) has praised Elon Musk’s SpaceX, saying that the rocket launch company “has undeniably changed the launcher market paradigm as we know it.” Aschbacher, in a blog post for ESA, said: “With the dependable reliability of Falcon 9 and the captivating prospects of Starship, SpaceX continues to […]

May 26, 2023

How Virgin Orbit lost a billion dollars

There’s an old joke amongst boat owners, which goes: “How do you end up with a $100,000 boat?” The answer is, “You start with a $200,000 boat.” Boats are a famous money pit, but so – it seems – is investing in a project such as Sir Richard Branson-backed Virgin Orbit. On May 25th, Virgin […]

May 25, 2023

Spaceport resurrects Sea Launch concept

Once upon a time there was Sea Launch, a US/Norway/Russia/Ukraine consortium that used a converted oil-rig plus a support ship, to equatorially launch rockets and their satellites from the sea and using Zenit rockets. Sea Launch operated from 1999 to 2014 and successfully launched 32 rockets, although suffered a total of three complete failures and […]

May 24, 2023