SatNews

Satellite Industry Intelligence Since 1983

SatBroadcasting™… This report includes new information regarding BBC, France Telecom-Orange Group, Intelsat + TBS

[SatNews] Breaking news items for those who have an interest in the various products that play a significanty role in the satellite broadcasting industries….


  • BBC homepage
    Wimbledon will continue to be broadcast on the BBC until at least 2017. BBC Sport has agreed a three-year extension to its current contract as host broadcaster and U.K. rights holder, extending its relationship with the All England Lawn Tennis Club to 90 years. The new deal, which reaffirms the BBC’s long term commitment to delivering the best sporting events to licence fee payers, will continue to give audiences unprecedented access to the tournament across all platforms including TV, radio, online, red button, mobile and tablet. Ian Ritchie, chief executive of the All England Club, said: “Wimbledon fans have been enjoying the BBC’s broadcast coverage of The Championships since 1927 and we are delighted to be extending this enduring and successful partnership for a further three years.” Barbara Slater, director of BBC Sport, said: “The BBC’s first ever live sport broadcast was from Wimbledon and we are proud that our new deal means the longest partnership in sports broadcasting continues.
  • The France Telecom-Orange Group has reported their third quarter 2011 results. The Group garnered a total of 221.0 million customers at 30 September 2011, up 6.3 percent year on year on a comparable basis. In France, mobile services market share stabilized at 40.5 percent at September 30, 2011, despite strong competitive pressure, while ADSL market share net adds significantly improved to an 35.3 percent in the third quarter of 2011(1). Consolidated revenues for the first nine months of the year were 33.848 billion euros, stable compared to a year earlier (+0.1 percent on a comparable basis and excluding regulatory measures). The decrease of 0.5 percent in the third quarter was due to:
    • The revenue decline in France (-2.8 versus -0.5 percent in the second quarter, excluding the impact of regulatory measures) reflected slower growth in mobile revenues, mainly related to a drop in mobile device sales
    • Continuing momentum in Spain, with revenues rising 7.4 percent, excluding the impact of regulatory measures
    • The revenue decline in Poland was limited to 1.7 percent after a drop of 3.8 percent in the second quarter excluding the impact of regulatory measures, with the 2.1 percentage point improvement due to both mobile and fixed services
    • Mobile market share by value was resilient at 30.8 percent in the third quarter(1)
    • Continued growth in operations in Africa and the Middle East, with underlying revenue growth of 6.1 percent, excluding Egypt and Côte d’Ivoire, and excluding the impact of regulatory measures
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    Restated(2) EBITDA was 11.611 billion euros, with a margin decrease of 1.4 percentage points. Significant improvement in the third quarter of 2011, with margin erosion limited to -1.2 points, was due to a proactive strategy to control commercial expenses, particularly in France. CAPEX was equal to 11.0% of revenues, representing 3.731 billion euros of investment in the first nine months of 2011, a 7.5 percent increase on a comparable basis on the previous year. Restated operating cash flow (EBITDA – CAPEX) for the first nine months of 2011 was 7.880 billion euros. The Group is therefore able to raise its operating cash flow target for 2011, now estimated at slightly more than 9 billion euros. To read the entire financial report, Download it at this direct link.


    Orange homepage



  • Artistic rendition of the Intelsat 11 satellite
    Intelsat S.A. has capacity agreements with Turner Broadcasting on two Intelsat satellites. Turner Broadcasting has extended its long-term commitment on Intelsat 9, and has committed to new capacity on Intelsat 11 as part of two multi-year deals. “With Latin America’s continued growth, it’s more important than ever for Turner Broadcasting to secure long-term access to our regional customers,” said John Ball, Vice President of International Distribution Technology, Turner Broadcasting. “As the demand for content in Latin America grows, this agreement with Intelsat positions us perfectly to deliver the programming that our customers value the most.” Turner Broadcasting will continue to provide SD content on Intelsat 9, and will offer HD programming on Intelsat 11 to its customers in Latin America. Turner has historically used Intelsat’s fleet exclusively for its Latin American distribution platforms. Together with Intelsat 805, the three satellites are the premier content distribution platforms for television in the region.