Viacom (US$749 million) will reap the highest revenues of any international channel  group in Europe in 2013, according to a new report from Digital TV Research.  Covering 225 international channels/networks from 11 groups, the TV Channel  Revenues in Europe report estimates that Viacom will be followed by Eurosport (US$ 651 million) and Discovery (US $620 million). 

Broadband in Europe is doing  well.  5 of the top 10 ‘fastest’ markets worldwide are European, coverage is on a planned path (unlike many countries around the world) and many of the suppliers are showing useful financial stability and promise as revenues are increasing at least overall, according to new analysis from Poin Topic.

Set-top boxes developer Pace plc is acquiring optical transport and access network solutions provider Aurora Networks for US$ 310 million in cash.

For the year ended 31 March 2013, Aurora generated revenues of US$ 217 million and EBITDA of US$ 30 million. With the purchase, Pace is hopeful it will be able to improve its chances of reaching profitability target of 9 percent return on sales in 2015.

Informa Telecoms & Media partnered with Comsys this year to produce the 15th annual VSAT 2013 conference,  in a new venue—Amsterdam, the Netherlands.   The conference was  held the day after the IBC 2013 convention and there has been some spillover attendance from IBC, which resulted in slightly higher attendance numbers this year. 

BSkyB showed strength across all its products during the first quarter of fiscal 2013 with plenty of highlights. During the first three months ended 30 September 2013, BSkyB snatched 800,000 new paid-for subscription products for a 50% year on year growth. Sky Broadband surpassed 5 million customers with 111,000 net new broadband customers added in the quarter, up 9% year on year, while triple play penetration rose to 36%, up 3 percentage points.

BSkyB showed strength across all its products during the first quarter of fiscal 2013 with plenty of highlights. During the first three months ended 30 September 2013, BSkyB snatched 800,000 new paid-for subscription products for a 50% year on year growth. Sky Broadband surpassed 5 million customers with 111,000 net new broadband customers added in the quarter, up 9% year on year, while triple play penetration rose to 36%, up 3 percentage points.

With high-speed satellite broadband now available in all 28 EU countries, Europe today reached a major milestone in its drive to bridge the Digital Divide. The opportunity of broadband for all became a reality with the launch of satellite broadband services in the Baltics, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania being the last countries to be added to a network of service providers across Member States.

SES S.A. operator of a global fleet of 54 communication satellites, has successfully placed a €500 million 5-year Euro bond. The bond, issued by SES Global Americas Holdings GP and guaranteed by SES S.A., was priced today with a coupon of 1.875% (Mid-Swap +73bp). SES is rated Baa2/BBB/BBB (all stable). Proceeds of issuance will be used to refinance existing debt.

The proliferation of smart devices, mobile broadband and connected TV in the MENA region (Middle East and North Africa), has opened up a wealth of possibility for operators to maximise on the revenue opportunities presented by CDNs (Content Delivery Networks). The region’s premier event in connected entertainment, TV Connect MENA, will provide the ideal platform next month for industry leaders to delve into the topic of monetising the network.

The number of TV sets connected to the Internet will reach 759 million by 2018 for 40 countries covered in the Connected TV Forecasts report, up from 115 million  at end-2010 and the 307 million expected at end-2013. This translates to 26.8% of 
global TV sets by 2018, up from only 5.1% at end-2010 and 12.4% by end-2013. 

Connected TV is becoming more international. The US will still command a third of  connected TV sets by end-2013, but this proportion will fall to 23.5% by 2018. China will climb from 6.6% of the 2013 total to 16.4% by 2018.