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

Alticast helps deliver Thailand’s first 4K UHD channel
Jul 31, 2018 – Alticast has announced that its software platform, AltiPlatform, was instrumental in launching Thailand’s first 4K UHD channel with TrueVisions. The service, capable of transmitting UHD for both cable and DTH, rolled out on June 24.
News categories: Alticast, TrueVisions, Dosa Park, Sueksith Cholasuek, Cable TV, Content Distribution, Digital TV, Middleware, Satellite, Set Top Box, Thailand

Media Group Ukraine takes capacity on Eutelsat 9B
Jul 31, 2018 – Eutelsat (Paris: ETL) has signed a contract with Media Group Ukraine for broadcasting services on its EUTELSAT 9B satellite. Media Group Ukraine will broadcast 'Xtra TV', one of the country’s leading pay-TV platforms.
News categories: Eutelsat, Media Group Ukraine, Michel Azibert, Alexey Kurakin, Content Distribution, Digital TV, Satellite, Ukraine

Airtel Digital TV adds 479,000 subscribers in 2Q 2018
Jul 26, 2018 – Bharti Airtel has announced results for the quarter ended June 30, 2018. The company had 14.646 million DTH customers at the end of the period. Net customer additions for Digital TV during the quarter were 479,000.
News categories: Bharti Airtel, Digital TV, India, Results, Satellite, Subscribers

AT&T US up 80k; DTVLA up 140k video subs in 2Q 2018
Jul 24, 2018 – AT&T (NYSE:T) has reported results for the second quarter of 2018. Total US video subscribers grew by 80,000 in the quarter as DIRECTV NOW and U-Verse subscriber growth offset satellite declines. For DIRECTV Latin America, subscribers were up 140,000.
News categories: AT&T, Digital TV, IPTV, Latin America, Mexico, Results, Satellite, Streaming, Subscribers, USA

Exodus from pay TV in the U.S. accelerates despite OTT partnerships
Jul 24, 2018 – Even as traditional pay TV providers form partnerships with former over-the-top (OTT) rivals to retain customers, U.S. cord-cutting continues to outpace projections. According to eMarketer, the number of cord-cutters will climb 32.8% this year to 33.0 million.
News categories: eMarketer, Christopher Bendtsen, Paul Verna, Cable TV, Digital TV, IPTV, Market Research, Satellite, Streaming, Subscribers, USA

52.5 million pay TV subs for European former USSR countries in 1Q 2018
Jul 17, 2018 – According to Dataxis, Pay-TV subscriptions in former European USSR countries reached 53.2m in the first quarter of 2018, a 3% YoY growth. In line with global trends, cable TV is declining in all countries of the region (-2% YoY).
News categories: Dataxis, Armenia, Belarus, Cable TV, Digital TV, Estonia, Georgia, IPTV, Latvia, Lithuania, Market Research, Moldova, Russia, Satellite, Subscribers, Terrestrial, Ukraine

Eutelsat partners with Intelsat and SES in U.S. C-band spectrum proposal
Jul 12, 2018 – Intelsat (NYSE: I), SES (Paris: SESG) and Eutelsat (Paris: ETL) have announced that they are aligned on a market-based proposal for the future use of the lower C-band spectrum in the U.S. Eutelsat has agreed to join a proposal initiated by Intelsat, Intel and SES.
News categories: Eutelsat, Intelsat, SES S.A, Rodolphe Belmer, Stephen Spengler, Steve Collar, Content Distribution, Digital TV, Satellite, USA

Dish TV India adds 301,000 subscribers in 2Q 2018
Jul 9, 2018 – Dish TV India (BSE: 532839, NSE: DISHTV, LSE: DTVL) has reported results for the quarter ended June 30, 2018. Subscriber growth picked up speed during the quarter with 301,000 net additions resulting in a closing subscriber base of 23.3 million.
News categories: Dish TV India, Jawahar Goel, Digital TV, India, Results, Satellite, Subscribers

DISH delivers Hands-Free TV with the Google Assistant
Jul 9, 2018 – DISH has debuted its new integration with the Google Assistant for a Hands-Free TV entertainment experience. DISH customers with a Hopper, Hopper Duo, Joey or Wally can control their TV using just their voice when paired with an Assistant device, like Google Home, Android phones or iPhones.
News categories: DISH Network, Google Assistant, Niraj Desai, Michele Turner, Big Data, Digital TV, Satellite, Set Top Box, Smart Home, USA, UX