According to ABI Research, the worldwide pay TV market grew at a steady rate of 4% in 2014 to reach 923.5 million subscribers. “Despite the growth in subscriber base, weak currency exchange rates resulted in a slower increase of pay TV market service revenue. Worldwide the pay TV market generated US$257 billion in 2014 and is expected to surpass 1.1 billion subscribers in 2020 with a CAGR 2.7%,” comments Jake Saunders, VP and Practice Director of Core Forecasting.

Gilat Satellite Networks (NASDAQ: GILT) announced today that Erez Antebi, has decided to step down from the position of CEO. Dov Baharav, Gilat’s Chairman of the Board will assume the position of interim CEO until a new CEO is appointed. The transition between  Baharav and Antebi will take place during the second quarter of 2015. Baharav will remain Gilat's Chairman of the Board.

Pay TV revenues [subscriptions and on-demand] in North America peaked in 2013 at $102.86 billion, according to a new report from Digital TV Research. The latest edition of the Digital TV North America report forecasts that revenues will fall by 11.7% or $12.04 billion between 2014 and 2020 to $90.71 billion in 2020. 

Newtec, a specialist in designing, developing and manufacturing equipment and technologies for satellite communications, today announced it has appointed Kevin McCarthy, a veteran of the maritime satellite communications industry, to the position of VP of Market Development.

The World Teleport Association today announced the winners of the 20th annual Teleport Awards for Excellence during an exclusive luncheon at Satellite 2015. The awards are presented each year to organizations and individuals in the teleport industry whose achievements have been deemed exceptional by the international trade association and its awards committees, made up of industry members from across the globe.

The 2015 recipients are:

Parks Associates announced today the release of industry reports providing strategic recommendations for service providers, app developers, and platform developers as consumers turn increasingly to OTT and non-linear content options. The report Under Attack: Assessing New Threats to Pay TV notes that while consumers watch over 30 hours of video per week on average, the number of households planning to cancel their pay-TV service (potential cord-cutters) has also increased, reaching 7% of U.S. broadband households with pay-TV service.

XCOR Aerospace announced today that executive John H. (Jay) Gibson II has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer and President of the company Gibson succeeds Jeff Greason, who is transitioning to Chief Technology Officer. Greason will dedicate his time to Lynx development, XCOR's orbital system and other crucial projects.

Panasonic Corporation and ITC Global announced today that they have entered into a definitive agreement for Panasonic to acquire ITC Global, a leading provider of satellite communication services for the energy, mining, and maritime markets.

Founded in 2001 with regional headquarters in Houston, Texas; Sion, Switzerland; and Perth, Australia, ITC Global serves customers at more than 1,200 remote sites across 70 countries and all the world’s oceans.  

Global mobile satellite communications services provider Inmarsat today announced that Raymundo (Ray) Villar has joined the company as Regional Director, Aviation, Latin America.

NSR’s Wireless Backhaul via Satellite 10th Edition report, released today, forecasts the global installed base of satellite backhaul sites will surpass 67,000 by 2025 and will generate US$2.1 billion in revenues. Mobile Backhaul will generate the majority of growth led by Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.