Western Europe is forecast to have 197 million SVOD subscriptions by 2025, doubling from 88 million at end-2019. About 45 million subscribers will be added in 2020 alone, with the Covid lockdown providing a major boost according to new research from Digital TV Research.

Rocket Lab has closed the transaction to acquire Sinclair Interplanetary, a leading provider of high-quality, flight-proven satellite hardware. Rocket Lab initially announced the execution of the agreement to acquire Sinclair Interplanetary on March 16, 2020 pending customary closing conditions and satisfying The Investment Canada Act review process. Terms of the approved deal were not disclosed.

Infostellar has raised a total of US$ 3.5 million in convertible bonds with existing investors Airbus Ventures and Sony Innovation Fund, while welcoming new investors Daiwa Energy Infrastructure, Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, and Mitsubishi UFJ Lease & Finance. As a result, the cumulative amount of funds raised now reaches USD 11.5 million.

Infostellar is continuing to raise additional funds, and this round is scheduled to be closed by June 2020.

At Satellite 2020 in Washington, D.C. Satellite Markets and Research Editor-in-Chief Virgil Labrador interviewed key executives including Alexander Müller-Gastell, CEO-ND SatCom; 

Satellite operator Intelsat (NYSE: I)today announced that Tahmin O. Clarke has joined the company as Vice President of Investor Relations. Based in the company’s McLean, Va. office, Clarke is responsible for managing the company’s relationships with shareholders, bondholders and lenders, and the equity and fixed income research analyst community.

Euroconsult announched that the World Satelltie Business Week (WSBW) has been rescheduled to November 9-12, 2020.  Original shceduled to be held in Paris in September, the organizers cited the "ongoing related dynamics" as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic as one the reasons for the postponement.

Iridium Communications Inc. (Nasdaq: IRDM)  today reported financial results for the first quarter of 2020 and updated its full-year 2020 outlook. Net loss was $31.7 million, or $0.24 per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2020, as compared to net loss of $18.0 million, or $0.18 per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2019.

NSR’s Aeronautical Satcom Markets, 8^th Edition report projects a viable long-term In-flight Connectivity (IFC) market, despite significant near-term challenges due to COVID-19.  Coming off a challenging 2018 and 2019, 2020 has already seriously disrupted the IFC market, with air traffic down by at least 80% in most regions.

Speedcast International Limited  today announced that it has initiated a voluntary financial restructuring under chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. In conjunction with chapter 11 petitions filed on behalf of Speedcast International Limited and certain of its U.S. and international subsidiaries. Speedcast's chapter 11 case is being heard in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. 

Western Europe’s pay TV subscriber total will slip below 100 million by 2025. However, this is no US steep decline as subscriber numbers will drop by only 2.67 million between 2019 and 2025.