News of satellite TV

[Administrator]

[shadow=blue]Bolivia's TKSAT-1 satellite nears full capacity[/shadow]

Bolivia's TKSAT-1 has already sold 75% of its telecom capacity, leaving the door open for a new satellite launch in the next few years.

Speaking to the national media, Iv?n Zambrana, director of the country's space agency (ABE), said that 60% of the satellite's capacity is already in use and 15% more has been acquired and will start operating within the next few weeks.

Several telcos have recently expanded their pay-TV and Internet services through the satellite. The Bolivian national telco Entel, which acquired half the satellite's telecom power, Viva's Nuevatel and Tigo's Telecel, as well as TV networks including Bolivia TV and Red Uno, are currently using TKSAT-1 capacity.

According to Zambrana, the satellite, which launched two years ago, has already succeeded in bringing telecom access to the country's poorest and most remote areas.

Before the TKSAT-s reaches saturation, the national space agency intends to launch another satellite. Following ABE's statements, two more satellites will be launched over the next ten years, one for geological research and one for telecoms.

 

[Administrator]

[shadow=blue]China Digital TV Announces Change to Board of Directors[/shadow]

BEIJING, Dec. 28, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- China Digital TV Holding Co., Ltd. (NYSE: STV) ("China Digital TV" or the "Company"), the leading provider of cloud-based application platforms and conditional access ("CA") systems which enable China's digital cable television market to offer and secure diversified content services, today announced that the Company has accepted the resignation of Mr. Eric Xu from the Board of Directors, effective December 31, 2015.

"We are grateful to Mr. Xu for his contributions to China Digital TV as a board member over the past three years," stated Mr. Jianhua Zhu, China Digital TV's chief executive officer. "His knowledge and expertise were extremely helpful and I am joined by the rest of the board in wishing him great success in his future endeavors."

About China Digital TV

Founded in 2004, China Digital TV enables television network operators to manage, extend and diversify content services across households and public areas in China. China Digital TV is the leading provider of cloud-based application platforms and network broadcasting platform ("NBP") services to Chinese cable operators, helping them to effectively bring mobile gaming apps and other entertainment options to household television sets, and extend cable programming outside the home to any mobile device. China Digital TV is also the leading provider of CA systems in China's digital television market. CA systems enable television network operators to secure the delivery of content to their subscribers. The Company cooperates with nearly all of China's cable television operators.

For more information please visit the Investor Relations section of China Digital TV's website at http://ir.chinadtv.cn.

Safe Harbor Statement

This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Such forward-looking statements are made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will", "expects", "anticipates", "future", "intends", "plans", "believes", "estimates", "may", "should" and similar expressions. China Digital TV may also make forward-looking statements in its periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, in its annual report to shareholders, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about China Digital TV's beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from projections contained or implied in any forward-looking statement, including but not limited to the following: competition in the CA systems, digital television, cable television and related industries in the PRC and the impact of such competition on prices, our ability to implement our business strategies, changes in technology, the progress of the television digitalization in the PRC, the structure of the cable television industry or television viewer preferences, changes in PRC laws, regulations or policies with respect to the CA systems, digital television, cable television and related industries, including the extent of non-PRC companies' participation in such industries, and changes in political, economic, legal and social conditions in the PRC, including the government's policies with respect to economic growth, foreign exchange and foreign investment.

Further information regarding these and other risks and uncertainties is included in our annual report on Form 20-F and other documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. China Digital TV does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, which apply only as of the date of this press release.

For investor and media inquiries, please contact:

China Digital TV Holding Co., Ltd.
Nan Hao
Investor Relations Manager
Tel: +86-10-6297-1199 x 9780
Email: [email protected]

ICR, Inc.
Charles Eveslage
Tel: +1 (646) 328-1950
Email: [email protected]

SOURCE China Digital TV Holding Co., Ltd.



RELATED LINKS
http://ir.chinadtv.cn

 

[Administrator]

[dropshadow=blue]RCS&RDS completes network upgrade[/dropshadow]
Romania’s RCS&RDS has completed the modernisation of its national and international data transmission network.

According to the company, the procedure took six months to complete and cost over €2.2 million.

It involved the upgrade of the network’s capacity from 10 Gbps to 100 Gbps and the connection of five major hubs of the network, located in Bucharest, Timisoara, Iasi, Oradea and Budapest.

RCS&RDS is the leading cable and DTH operator in Romania and also a leading provider of internet services.

Outside Romania, it has a presence in Hungary, Spain and Italy.

 

[Administrator]

[shadow=blue]Bolivia's TKSAT-1 satellite nears full capacity[/shadow]

Details

Juan Fernandez Gonzalez

| 28 December 2015


Bolivia's TKSAT-1 has already sold 75% of its telecom capacity, leaving the door open for a new satellite launch in the next few years.

Speaking to the national media, Iv?n Zambrana, director of the country's space agency (ABE), said that 60% of the satellite's capacity is already in use and 15% more has been acquired and will start operating within the next few weeks.

Several telcos have recently expanded their pay-TV and Internet services through the satellite. The Bolivian national telco Entel, which acquired half the satellite's telecom power, Viva's Nuevatel and Tigo's Telecel, as well as TV networks including Bolivia TV and Red Uno, are currently using TKSAT-1 capacity.

According to Zambrana, the satellite, which launched two years ago, has already succeeded in bringing telecom access to the country's poorest and most remote areas.

Before the TKSAT-s reaches saturation, the national space agency intends to launch another satellite. Following ABE's statements, two more satellites will be launched over the next ten years, one for geological research and one for telecoms.

 

[Administrator]

[shadow=blue]The X-Files reveals a major spoiler about Mulder and Scully in this behind-the-scenes video[/shadow]
The truth is still out there… and here it is!

https://youtu.be/UgRUzEdPfHA

The X-Files drops some major spoilers in a 21-minute behind-the-scenes featurette just out from Fox.
The network takes you to the set of its revival miniseries to reveal more info than ever before about the mystery ahead - and the state of Mulder and Scully's relationship.
One of the bombshells confirmed in the clip above is that Mulder and Scully's now-teenage son William is still alive… but the couple's romance is long-since dead.
"Through the course of the show, when it ran for over 200 episodes, the characters grew," creator Chris Carter explains. "Mulder and Scully for nine years had a platonic relationship. Even though we suggest that they had a child together, we never saw them as a couple until the second movie.
"When we come back to them in the new series, we will have been honest to their relationship previously, but we now find them in another state.

Gillian Anderson, Joel McHale and David Duchovny
"Seven or eight years have elapsed. Time has been difficult for the relationship. We will investigate what's happened in that time."
There are also glimpses of the back-from-the-dead Lone Gunmen, and an inside look at the lighter moments of the new series.
Joel McHale takes centre stage as Tad O'Malley, a conservative newsman who guides Mulder towards a conspiracy involving alien abductee Sveta (Annet Mahendru).
All of our lingering questions (well, some of them surely) will finally be answered in less than one month's time.
The X-Files returns on Sunday, January 24, 2016 on Fox in the US.

 

[Administrator]

[shadow=blue]Game of Thrones wins title of most-pirated TV show for fourth year running[/shadow]
HBO's attempts to combat illegal downloads are nothing compared to the dedication of GoT fans, it seems.

The entertainment juggernaut that is Game of Thrones? ?has added another 'honour' to its awards belt, scooping this particular prize for the fourth year in its five-season run.

But it's not an Emmy, BAFTA and Screen Actors Guild trophy - it is the somewhat less-coveted title of most pirated show of the year. Again.

TorrentFreak ?reported that season five of the George R R Martin-penned fantasy once again beat competition from US heavyweights The Walking Dead and The Big Bang Theory, which ranked second and third in the illegal download chart.

The nail-biting finale to Game of Thrones' most-recent series, 'Mother's Mercy' - which left Jon Snow's fate hanging in the balance - was downloaded around 14.4 million times via BitTorrent. More than half of the downloads happened in the week after the show first aired.
That same episode saw Game of Thrones ?break piracy records when 1.5 million people downloaded the instalment in just eight hours after the show aired.?

HBO had tried to tackle pirating by airing ?season five episodes on the same day internationally, so global audiences didn't have to seek out torrents in the weeks before it aired in their country.

But with the first four episodes leaking online before they could air, and the wild speculation (and indefensible spoilers from some quarters of the internet) that followed the finale, it seems the cable channel was fighting a losing battle.

 

[Administrator]

[shadow=blue]Leeds face sanctions over Sky TV stance[/shadow]
Leeds United face a "range of sanctions" over their attempts to deny Sky Sports access to broadcast the match against Derby County.
The Football League has warned Leeds United the club will face sanctions if they fail to allow Sky Sports into Elland Road to televise Tuesday's Championship fixture with Derby County.
The West Yorkshire club are yet to grant Sky personnel access to Elland Road ahead of the match due to owner Massimo Cellino's unhappiness at what he claims are repeated kick-off and date changes for their fixtures.
Leeds claim they are among the clubs to be shown most regularly on television and were asked by the Football League on Monday for their observations on the situation.
And with negotiations between Leeds and the Football League on-going, the latter confirmed sanctions were a possibility.
"Under Football League regulations clubs are required to provide access to the League's broadcasting partners for the purpose of setting up and filming any matches that are selected for transmission," said a spokesperson.
"Failure to do so will lead to a club being charged with misconduct with the matter being referred to an independent Football Disciplinary Commission (FDC).
"The FDC has a full range of sanctions at its disposal."
The organisation said on Monday that it hoped for a swift resolution, although Omnisport understands that Sky personnel are yet to be allowed access to the ground.
Sky are involved in discussions but the main dispute remains between Leeds and the Football League.
Cellino - who saw a second individual disqualification from running the club suspended by the Football League in November - has previously been critical of Sky's scheduling, stating the club's stature is "exploited".
The former Cagliari owner limited the number of away tickets Leeds would sell to 2,000 as a way of protesting to the Football League in October.

 

[Administrator]

[shadow=blue]Stealth TV Service Revealed: Layer3 TV Starts Testing Umio-Branded Pay TV Service (Exclusive)[/shadow]

Denver-based pay TV upstart Layer3 TV has quietly started to test its new cable television service under the brand name Umio in two markets in Texas. Umio promises consumers a modern take on TV, thanks in part to a state-of-the-art set-top box, but still seems to stick to the traditional cable TV bundle.

Layer3 TV, which was founded by cable TV veterans in 2013, hasn’t officially announced the Umio brand yet, and has no mention of it on its website. However, the company quietly launched Umio in the Texas towns of Midland and Kingswood in December, and has since started to market it to local residents, promising them two months of free TV service as part of a beta test.

Here’s a promotional video for Umio’s service:

<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/137424631" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen></iframe>

Layer3 has in the past been very guarded about its technology and business, leading many to believe that the company was going to launch a virtual pay TV operator that streams its programming over the Internet, similar to what Dish has been doing with Sling TV. The company’s new Umio site doesn’t spell out all the details either, but makes it look like the service is much closer to what you’d expect from a traditional cable company. The company’s set-top box features an integrated cable modem, and Umio’s website promises “one powerful package” that includes Internet and TV services.

This traditional approach also extends to Umio’s TV programming. In Kingswood, Umio is offering subscribers a cable package that includes local broadcasters as well as most of the cable nets you’d get with one of its established competitors, including ESPN and a number of other sports nets. Umio also offers a number of add-on packages, like a movie package including Encore, SundanceTV and the FX Movie Channel, a sports package, a Spanish-language package and separate add-ons for HBO, Showtime and Starz. Notably absent from the mix is any Viacom network, so Umio customers won’t be able to watch Comedy Central, MTV or Nickelodeon, at least not during the current test phase.

Umio is using a state of the art set-top box from Pace, which includes a front-facing LCD screen, a Wifi router, voice control, a DVR with eight tuners, support for a variety of wireless technologies to eventually control connected appliances and more, as well as 4K playback support. It’s unclear, however, whether Umio will actually have access to any 4K content at launch.

Umio’s box will also have access to online video content — even though the website doesn’t exactly specify which services it will carry. Instead, it’s promising to integrate “all of your subscription streaming video services and even online viral videos into one, seamless experience so you never have to compromise on content.” Netflix has long looked to strike partnerships with pay TV operators, and Hulu and YouTube have made strides in this space as well, but none of these services are mentioned by name on Umio’s site.

Umio’s main pitch seems to be that it is easier than services from established cable or satellite operators, but it’s unclear whether that’s really enough to get consumers to switch — especially without knowing anything about Umio’s pricing.

Layer3 TV was founded in 2013 by Jeff Binder, who previously founded the VOD technology company Broadbus Technologies, and Dave Fellows, previously CTO at Comcast and AT&T Broadband. The company has also hired former Fox executive Lindsay Gardner for its content deals, and has raised more than $80 million total from Evolution Media Growth Partners and North Bridge Venture Partners. The company didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment for this story.

 

[Administrator]

[shadow=blue]Alexa arrives on Amazon’s first-gen Fire TV[/shadow]

Owners of the first generation of the Amazon Fire TV are in for some good news: Amazon is bringing its Alexa digital assistant to the set-top box with a new firmware update rolling out over the next few weeks. First-gen Fire TV users may have been feeling out of the loop lately, with Amazon focusing on the new 4K model, not mention Alexa already being brought the second-gen Fire TV last fall. Fortunately the voice-based assistant is also coming to the original Fire TV Stick as well.


The update comes in the form of Fire OS 5.0.5, and while it see release starting today, there's no way for users to manually trigger the update themselves, so they may need to hold tight for a while. Once installed, their Fire TV will be running Android 5.1 Lollipop, and its existing voice search functions will be enhanced with Alexa.

The Fire TV won't be able to handle everything Amazon's Echo speaker can, but it will answer users' questions about the weather, traffic, and sports scores, not to mention music and audiobooks. More advanced tasks include conducting local searches, re-ordering recent Amazon purchases, and limited control over home automation devices.

Aside from Alexa, the update will allow Fire TV Stick users to have the option of listening to audio over Bluetooth headphones. Amazon's software update website hasn't posted any information about the update yet, but full details are expected to be shared soon.

 

[Administrator]

[shadow=blue]Digital TV Western Europe Forecasts to 2021 - Western European Pay Tv is Fast Maturing, With Penetration Only Forecast to Grow From 56.8% at End-2015 to 59.5% in 2021 - Research and Markets[/shadow]
Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Digital TV Western Europe Forecasts" report to their offering.
The number of homes paying for IPTV in Western Europe overtook pay satellite TV ones in 2015. According the Digital TV Western Europe Forecasts report, IPTV subscriptions will climb by nearly 7 million (up by 27%) between 2015 and 2021. IPTV revenues will reach $5.77 billion in 2021 - up by $1.2 billion.

However, the number of homes paying for satellite TV will fall by 300,000 between 2015 and 2021 for the 18 countries covered in the report. This is due mainly to some operators, especially in Spain and Italy, converting their DTH subs to more lucrative bundles on their broadband networks. Satellite TV revenues will fall for every year from 2011 - and will decline by $1 billion between 2015 and 2021.

Western European pay TV is fast maturing, with penetration only forecast to grow from 56.8% at end-2015 to 59.5% in 2021. The number of pay TV subscribers will climb from 97.4 million in 2015 to 104.3 million in 2021.

So, pay TV subscriptions will only increase by 6.9 million (7.0%) between 2015 and 2021. However, the number of digital pay TV subs will increase by 19.0% (nearly 17 million) over the same period. Digital cable subs will increase by almost 10 million.

Published in April 2016, this 210-page sixth-edition electronically-delivered report comes in two parts:

- A 120-page PDF file providing punchy narrative and succinct analysis in the Executive Summary and a digital TV briefing for 18 countries.
- An excel workbook providing detailed forecasts from 2010 to 2021 for 18 countries aswell as handy comparative tables for the region.

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/stn3wq/digital_tv

 

[Administrator]

[Impact]SES Microsoft deal “a game changer”[/Impact]

SES regards its agreement with Microsoft to develop a broadcast-grade managed cloud service offering on Microsoft Azure as game changing, according to Ferdinand Kayser, CEO, SES Video.

Speaking in a press event at IBC 2019, he also said that the benefits to customers of this increased cooperation between SES and Microsoft would be flexibility, scalability and cost effectiveness. In addition, he revealed that the agreement with Microsoft is not exclusive.

Kayser spoke about the next generation platform MX1 360 and how it allows customers to simplify complexity.

The market challenges currently faced by customers are complexity, live streaming and flexibility.

By 2023 SES expects that 31% of all TV sets will be connected and 23% being Ultra HD.

Furthermore, an additional 2.6 billion devices will be connected by 2023.

Meanwhile, live streaming is expected to grow by 73% CAGR between 2017 and 2022, while in content management playout is most important.

Kayser also said that SES Video currently reaches over 355 million households and over 1 billion people.

It distributes over 8,200 TV channels and plays out over 525. It streams 8,400 hours of online video and over 620 hours of premium sports and live events daily.

Significantly, in a Q&A was also revealed at the event that the SES expects video and networks to each account for 50% of its business in the next five years.