Satellite Television (DBS, DTH, DSat, DVB-S, DVB-S2) News

Spain - DIGITAL+ 2,061,000 subscribers at end-Q3
Oct 16, 2008 – PRISA (Madrid: PRS.MC) has announced its January-September 2008 results. The subscriber base of DIGITAL+ at September 30th 2008 stood at 2,061,000 subscribers. At September 30th 2007, the subscriber base stood at 2,046,000.
News categories: Sogecable, PRISA, DIGITAL+, Results, Satellite, Spain, Subscribers

Thomson: Near-term Priorities and Third Quarter Revenues
Oct 16, 2008 – Thomson (Paris: 18453, NYSE:TMS) reported total revenues of €1,170 million for the quarter (3Q07, €1,348 million). Satellite set-top box sales declined. Sales of gateways for telcos performed well and cable products grew significantly.
News categories: Thomson, Cable TV, Gateway, IPTV, Results, Satellite, Set Top Box

Set-Top Box Market to Remain in Flux, iSuppli Predicts
Oct 14, 2008 – Although Set-Top Boxes (STBs) have been around for more than 30 years, the industry is far from settled. STBs should remain one of the most dynamic areas of the electronics industry for at least the next decade, according to iSuppli.
News categories: iSuppli, Cable TV, Digital TV, DVR, IPTV, Market Research, Satellite, Set Top Box, Terrestrial

Brazil - Pay TV reaches 5.5 million homes
Oct 13, 2008 – The Associação Brasileira de TV por Assinatura (ABTA) and the Sindicato das Empresas de TV por Assinatura (SETA) have announced that Brazil's pay-TV subscriber base has grown 12.7% versus the same period of 2007 to reach 5.5 million homes.
News categories: ABTA, SETA, Brazil, Cable TV, Digital TV, Market Research, MMDS, Satellite, Subscribers

India - DishTV, Tata Sky plan to launch DVRs
Oct 13, 2008 – With competition hotting up in the direct-to-home television segment after the entry of Reliance Big TV and Bharti Airtel DTH, market leader DishTV and Tata Sky are planning to introduce DVR technology around Diwali time to stay a step ahead.
News categories: DishTV, Tata Sky, Digital TV, DVR, India, Satellite, Set Top Box

Premiere considers change in set-top business model
Oct 13, 2008 – According to the German news magazine Focus, Premiere AG (PRE.XE) is considering a shift towards a vertical market for its set-top boxes with customers renting a new HD-capable box directly from the company.
News categories: Premiere, Digital TV, Germany, Satellite, Set Top Box

Nigeria's First Satellite Pay TV Platform goes Live
Oct 8, 2008 – DAARSAT, the first satellite Pay TV platform offering service in Nigeria and operating wholly from Nigeria, has been launched.
News categories: Daar Communications, Digital TV, Nigeria, Satellite

New ASTRA 1M Satellite To Be Launched On 31 October
Oct 8, 2008 – SES ASTRA (Paris and Luxembourg: SESG) has announced that the launch of its new satellite ASTRA 1M is scheduled for 31 October 2008. It will primarily deliver Direct-to-Home (DTH) services, including High Definition (HD) television.
News categories: SES ASTRA, Content Distribution, Satellite

Witbe measures a worldwide channel change time below 1.9 seconds
Oct 7, 2008 – Witbe has carried out a study of digital TV services (via DSL, cable, FTTH, satellite and DTT), looking at 30 operators in 16 countries on 4 continents. The average channel change time measured using P+/P- was 1.9 seconds.
News categories: Witbe, Cable TV, Digital TV, IPTV, Market Research, Satellite, Set Top Box, Terrestrial