At 01:03 UTC, Arianspace successfully launched the Hispasat 36W-1 (H36W-1), from the European Spaceport of Kourou in French Guiana, aboard Arianespace’s Soyuz launch vehicle.  

Approximately 32 minutes after the rocket took off, the H36W-1 satellite separated from the launch vehicle, at which point the solar panels were started up and deployed. From that moment on, manoeuvres began to position the new satellite at the geostationary orbit point where the test phase will be carried out to make sure it is working properly, and which is scheduled to last several weeks.  

According to new research from The Diffusion Group (TDG), the penetration of Internet-connected TVs among US broadband households has increased nearly 50% since 2013, from 50% to 74% at year-end 2016.

Boeing [NYSE: BA] has delivered ABS-2A, an all-electric propulsion 702 satellite, to ABS which entered into commercial service on January 21st. This is the second of the pair of all-electric satellite Boeing has delivered to ABS. ABS-2A was launched in June 2016 aboard SpaceX Falcon 9 and will provide enhanced satellite communications services, including direct-to-home television services.

Service providers are decreasing marketing on their cable, satellite, and IPTV products that offer managed quality of service in favor of new products that use over the top (OTT) technologies to compete with Amazon and Netflix. With OTT competition significantly increasing in mature pay-TV markets, ABI Research forecasts that live linear OTT video services will grow to approximately $7 billion dollars of worldwide revenue by 2021, from a little more than $1 billion in 2016.

New cord-cutter consumer research from Parks Associates shows the percentage of U.S. broadband households that use only antennas to receive TV has steadily increased since 2013 to reach 15%. 360 View: Entertainment Services in U.S. Broadband Households reveals this increase coincides with a drop in pay-TV subscriptions and an increase in Internet-only video subscriptions.

Viaccess-Orca announced today that it has acquired BigHill, a Finland-based software company that specializes in developing mobile apps for TV content. An agreement between the two companies was reached in December 2016. Adding a mobile TV app solution to its rich product and solutions portfolio will allow Viaccess-Orca to offer content providers an end-to-end solution for a rich and immersive content experience on any device.

Denis Arrufat will re-join Signalhorn to drive channel sales specifically with its partner Deutche Telekom.Arrufat, who worked with Signalhorn between 2002 and 2014 in a number of roles, most recently was responsible for the sales to Deutsche Telekom within Signalhorn. 

Riedel Communications has hired Alfred Monterrubio as a Service and Support Engineer. Monterrubio joins Riedel with nearly a decade of experience in quality control and management for broadcast technology solutions.

Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT)  today announced it has expanded the company's board of directors with the appointment of Dr. Tom Lookabaugh. Dr. Lookabaugh, 55, has over 30 years of experience in the semiconductor, communications equipment, and service provider industries, as well as in academia.

NSR’s High-Altitude Platforms (HAPs)  report, released today, highlights opportunities for growth via current and new airships, balloons, and pseudo-satellites will reach over $2B in cumulative revenue over the next decade. NSR’s industry-first HAPS report forecasts a 44% increase in HAPs units and an 85% increase in associated revenue over the coming ten years.