Staff Writer

Key: A. Analogue D. Digital 83-E: Insat–2E D. For the first time for one of its regular TV channel relays, Indian state broadcaster Doordarshan has started to use digital compression […]

Comsat shareholders have approved the company’s proposed merger with Lockheed Martin. Approximately 99 per cent of the total votes cast were in favour of the merger, representing over 74 per […]

Russia’s Krunichev Space Centre has established that a welding defect in the number three engine of the rocket’s second stage was the cause of the failure of the Raguda launch […]

In what is seen as a smart tactical move by industry observers, German media company Pro-Sieben Group has managed to gain valuable analogue capacity on the Astra satellite system (19.2 […]

The Swiss-based broadband multimedia software specialist The Fantastic Corporation has confirmed that it intends to launch an initial public offering on Frankfurt’s Neuer Markt, expected to be completed in the […]

The media and financial services holding company Fininvest, headed by Silvio Berlusconi, announced on July 28 that it has sold its 10 per cent stake in leading Italian digital platform […]

The arrival of new shareholders for the Italian digital platform Telepiu is close to being finalised with mobile phone operator Wind being the front runner. Although Telepiu has denied that […]

On July 30 Fininvest, together with US investment fund Lehman Brothers Merchant Bank Partners and Saudi financier Prince Al Waleed, finalised a deal which will give each of them a […]

Matra Marconi Space (MMS) still has not cleared its solar arrays for shipment, nor has it formally admitted they are defective (see Interspace 671-2). The French arm of the company […]

News Corp chairman Rupert Murdoch said on July 29 he was not interested in increasing News Corp’s stake in Italian pay-TV operator Stream from its current 35 per cent and […]

Polish national broadcaster Telewizja Polska (TVP) has, as expected, agreed terms with Canal Plus Polska for its participation in the Polish Cyfra+ digital bouquet. Under the terms of the agreement, […]

In a controversial move which will add yet more fuel the ongoing discussion about equal, non-discriminatory access to digital television in Germany, Kirch Group has begun to exchange the first […]

A new Catholic cultural channel from Austria has started test transmissions on Eutelsat’s Hot Bird 5 satellite at 13 degrees East. The channel, called K-TV, is using the German digital […]

MTV Italia is facing the prospect of losing its nationwide terrestrial TV distribution following the announcement by Italy’s Ministry of Communications that only eight private TV networks will have their […]

One of the TV channels granted only a temporary broadcasting permit during the recent round of terrestrial broadcast licensing for private TV channels by the Italian Ministry for Communications was […]

Russia’s "war of the TV channels" between the state-backed ORT and NTV, privately-owned by Vladimir Gusinsky’s Media Most group shows no sign of abating. ORT has frequently reported on Most’s […]

BSkyB will reveal its final year results this week, and is expected to confirm that it has already achieved digital sales past the one million mark, following the implementation of […]

Key: A. Analogue D. Digital 122 degrees E: Asiasat-1 Asiasat-1 has left its previous slot of 105.5 degrees East after being replaced by Asiasat-3S and is en route to 122 […]

Flextech shares leapt last week following a sharp drop of 17 per cent over a two week period. Analysts at Merrill Lynch put out a note on the company with […]

Interactive television will generate revenues of $20 billion by 2004, according to Forrester Research. Forrester estimates that interactive applications will generate $11 billion in advertising, $7 billion in commerce and […]

by Katie McConnell International relationships in the satellite community are not at their best. The U.S. decision to transfer the exporting of satellite licenses from the Commerce Department to the […]

by Gerald E. Oberst Jr. After reading ITU documents for years, it was a pleasure to find in a recent paper the first candid assessment of how confusing the coordination […]

by Marc Crossman Iridium’s inability to add meaningful subscribers to its network has left the company floundering in its ability to meet debt obligations. Despite the fact that three credit […]

by Katie McConnell Michael Young, Hongkong Telecom’s marketing manager, says, "The digitization of television channels has created enormous growth in the total number of satellite channels available. Multiple channel per […]

Troubled MSS operator Iridium has invoked a 30-day grace period for the payment of $90 million in interest due on July 15 on its $1.45 billion outstanding senior notes. The […]

Studio Universal, the pay-TV movie channel operated by Universal Studios Networks Germany, will most probably be able to launch, as planned, on 1 September. Following the directors of the 15 […]

Russia’s Media Most broadcasting group has strongly refuted reports that it is in severe financial trouble. Media Most which owns, among other things, the NTV satellite channels and the Segodnya […]

Bollywood For You (B4U) is a new 24-hour digital premium channel launching on August 26 for Asian viewers on Astra 2A. The channel will charge Pounds 9.99 as a stand-alone […]

Europe Online Networks (EON), has contracted additional capacity on the Astra satellite system at 19.2 degrees East and has established a smaller platform at 28.2 degrees East to develop its […]

The worldwide corporate business TV channel planned by German-American automobile company Daimler-Chrysler (Interspace 671) has launched test transmissions for Europe on Eutelsat’s Hot Bird 3 satellite at 13 degrees East. […]