News Analysis

Washington, D.C., June 17, 2013-The Satellite Industry Association (SIA) today  released its 2013 State of the Satellite Industry Report, showing a 7% growth in  world satellite industry revenues in 2012, up from 5% growth in 2011. Globally, 2012 revenues for the satellite industry totaled $189.5 billion, up from $177.3 billion  the previous year. All four industry sectors grew, led by satellite services, the  traditional driver for the industry. Both satellite manufacturing and launch services  saw significant revenue increases, and satellite ground equipment revenues also  continued to expand.

El Segundo, Calif., June 11, 2013 — DirecTV is entering the home security and automation business by acquiring Pennsylvania-based LifeShield Home Security.

Washington, D.C.,  June 11, 2013 — The Federal Communications Commission is initiating an inquiry into the competitive practices of the Fixed Satellite Services (FSS) industry because of allegations that some operators are “warehousing” satellite orbital locations and frequency assignments and are barring competitors from purchasing capacity on their satellites.

Denver, Colo., June 10, 2013--Liberty Global plc has completed its acquisition of British cable operator Virgin Media Inc. in a stock and cash merger valued at approximately US$ 24 billion (€18.26 billion) following shareholder approvals, regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.

Plano, Tex., June 7, 2013--According to The Diffusion Group (TDG), more than four years after the first public announcement of the cable industry’s ‘TV Everywhere’ (TVE) initiative, deployment to America’s multichannel TV subscribers remains at less than 50%.

New York, NY, June 4, 2013--CBS Corp. has acquired full control of TV Guide’s online and mobile apps divisions after buying out the 50 percent share held by Lionsgate Entertainment.This latest deal makes CBS the outright owner of Lionsgate’s digital assets, including TVGuide.com and TV Guide Mobile, which provide news and information about TV shows and movies in addition to TV listings.

Stockholm, Sweden, June 3, 2013--The new edition of the Ericsson Mobility Report reveals thatmobile-data traffic will continue to grow significantly in the coming years, a trend driven mainly by video. Overall data traffic is expected to grow 12-fold by the end of 2018. Increasing usage is driven by continual growth in the amount of content available as well as the improved network speeds that come with HSPA and LTE development.

Brussels, Belgium,  June 3, 2013--IDATE  has published the 13^th edition of its DigiWorld Yearbook with its theme "Embrace innovation: Evolve or die!  IDATE experts provide a concise and easy to read reference manual of the digital world, including key figures and a look at the latest innovations and key events that marked telecom, internet and media markets during 2012.

Englewood, Colo.., May 22, 2013 — In another bold attempt Charles Ergen, chairman of Dish Network Corp., has offered to buy broadband company LightSquared Inc., which is in bankruptcy proceedings,  for its wireless airwaves for US$ 2 Bil.

Carlsbad, Caliif., May 16, 2013--ViaSat Inc., a provider of satellite and other wireless networking systems and services, earned profits of US$ 1.9 million in its fiscal fourth quarter after a boost from new contracts.