Category: Broadcast

Media company Walt Disney Co is laying off several hundred employees across its film and television divisions, highlighting the downturn in the entertainment industry.

The layoffs, which began on Monday, affect staff in marketing, publicity, casting, development, and corporate finance, according to media reports. This round follows the 200 job cuts at Disney’s ABC and entertainment TV networks in March. Overall, the company has cut more than 8,000 jobs in recent years as part of efforts to boost profitability.

Hollywood restructures as cost pressures mount
Hollywood has been in cost-cutting mode for several years, with production and employment steadily declining, reports Bloomberg. Studios have scaled back film releases to improve profitability, especially as theatre attendance remains below pre-pandemic levels. Meanwhile, consumers are cancelling cable subscriptions in favour of streaming services, reducing advertising and distribution revenue for traditional TV channels.

This shift is driving a major industry reorganisation. Comcast reportedly plans to spin off most of its cable channels, including MSNBC, USA, and CNBC, by year-end. Warner Bros. Discovery has restructured internally to separate its studio and cable operations, potentially paving the way for divesting the latter. Paramount Global also anticipates further cuts as it moves forward with a merger with independent studio Skydance Media.

Disney’s strategic decisions and financial outlook
Disney had considered selling its TV networks, including ABC, but chose to retain them, according to reports. In February 2023, it cut 7,000 jobs, aiming to save $5.5 billion, later raising the target to $7.5 billion. Industry rivals have also executed thousands of layoffs.

At the close of its last financial year in September, Disney employed approximately 233,000 people, with 76 per cent working full time. In its latest earnings report released in May, the company surpassed Wall Street forecasts, driven by an unexpected surge in Disney+ streaming subscriptions and robust performance from its theme parks. Business Standard

EchoStar Corp., the wireless and pay-TV operator controlled by billionaire Charlie Ergen, has decided to skip interest payments on three bonds after a similar act late last week.

A total of $183 million interest payments due Monday on several bonds related to its pay-TV operator unit Dish Network Corp. will not be paid, according to a regulatory filing. The company cited “uncertainty” raised by the Federal Communications Commission review. The company has been tied up in a regulatory probe over its compliance with obligations to build a nationwide 5G network.

EchoStar’s shares fell 3.6% in postmarket trading on Monday. Dish’s 7.75% note due 2026 dropped over 1 cent to 84 cents on the dollar, according to Trace data.

The company has a 30-day grace period to make the interest payment. The company is skipping the payment to “allow time for the FCC to provide the relief requested,” it said.

Ergen was locked in a dispute with Dish’s bondholders last year, after a group of creditors rejected a bond-exchange offer that would have helped facilitate a proposed acquisition by rival DirecTV. The deal would have required lenders to take a steep haircut on the debt that they owned. Bloomberg

Taking a significant step to combat online piracy, the Delhi High Court has issued an injunction order – which is considered a stronger version of the traditional Dynamic + injunction.

So that fake websites and mobile apps illegally streaming the ongoing IPL and other cricket matches can be blocked forever.

Justice Saurabh Banerjee gave this unique order in a case filed by Star India Private Limited, which has exclusive streaming rights for high-profile cricket tournaments including the Indian Premier League (IPL) and India’s tour of England. The court restrained the defendants from infringing the rights of Star India and allowed relief at the present time against websites and mobile applications involved in unauthorized broadcasting, even if it is discovered during legal proceedings.

“In the age of new technology, today it has become very easy and convenient for infringers to create alpha-numeric/mirror/redirect variants of infringing websites…In such circumstances, this Court has repeatedly held that there is a need for relief in real time,” – Delhi High Court in Star India Pvt Ltd & Ors vs JioLive TV & Ors (2023)

This is the first time that the Delhi High Court has granted such legal relief to a fake mobile application, marking a significant development in the fight against digital piracy. In the previous case, Star India Pvt Ltd vs https://crichdplayer.org & Ors (2025), the Court had granted injunction in real time, but only against fake websites, not against mobile apps.

However, in the present case, the Court observed:

“There is neither any obstruction nor any harm caused…If the same relief as granted in the cases of fake websites is extended to fake mobile applications as well…then the manner of use/dissemination activity is hardly a matter of concern.”

The suit originally involved four known defendants, with Star India also naming several unknown rogue websites. As the case progressed, Star India filed seven interlocutory applications covering three fake mobile applications and 16 fake domains/URLs/UIs.

The timing of the case was significant, as Star India highlighted the challenge of discovering new fake entities in real time during court holidays, particularly during the IPL and other major tournaments. The Court accepted this argument, and acknowledged the difficulty of repeatedly approaching the Court for new relief.

It recognised the evolving nature of piracy, where infringing platforms – both websites and apps – become instantly visible during time-sensitive events such as live cricket matches.

“Superior injunctions open an additional avenue for plaintiffs to obtain present-day relief against the infringing activities of ‘fictitious’ defendants, regardless of the modus operandi,”
— Delhi High Court

By granting this present-day blocking power, the Court has strengthened the enforcement of intellectual property rights in India’s sports broadcasting industry, sending a strong signal against digital piracy through both web platforms and mobile applications.

Case no.: CS(COMM) 108/2025

Case title: Star India Pvt Ltd v. IPTV Smarter Pro & Ors.

Appearance: Mr. Sidharth Chopra, Mr. Yatinder Garg, Ms. Disha Sharma and Ms. Rimjhim Tiwari and Ms. Isha Singh, Advs for Plaintiff; Mr. Avish Sharma, Adv. for D-1, 4 & 36. Ms. Mrinal Ojha, Mr. Debarshi Dutta, Mr. Arjun Mookerjee, Ms. Nikita Rathi and Mr. Nikhil Gupta, Advs. for D-7.  Court Book

Stonepeak Partners-backed Radiate launched a deal to raise $400 million in fresh capital from its owner and also restructure existing debt.

The liquidity injection will be split across a second-out term loan and a third-out loan, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing a private matter. The financing will pay-in-kind, which allows the cable provider to defer paying interest in cash and instead pay with additional debt, they said.

A representative for Stonepeak declined to comment. A representative for Radiate didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

The debt restructuring was several months in the making and reconfigures which creditors get paid out first, the people said.

Radiate’s existing first-lien term loan lenders will be able to exchange into a new first-out term loan due in 2029 at 100 cents on the dollar. The new loan will pay 1.5% interest in kind and 3.5 percentage points over the Secured Overnight Financing Rate in cash, according to the people.

Meanwhile, first-lien noteholders can swap into new first-out notes at a discount of 98 cents. The new paper will pay 1.5% interest in kind and 4.75% in cash, the people said.

Lastly, the unsecured noteholders can roll into new second-out notes maturing 2030 at a discount of 83 cents. That debt will pay 3.25% interest in kind and 6% in cash, the people said.

Any firms that don’t agree to the deal will see their collateral stripped and will be pushed down the repayment line, the people added.

The debt restructuring, which is open to all participants, has garnered support from at least 98% of existing term loan lenders, around 99% of first-lien noteholders and 86% of unsecured noteholders, said the people.

Radiate is working with PJT Partners Inc. and Kirkland & Ellis, while creditors have engaged Evercore Inc. and Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, Bloomberg previously reported.

First-lien lenders have been operating under a cooperation agreement in effect until the company’s roughly $3.3 billion term loan’s 2026 maturity, Bloomberg reported. Bloomberg

DoT has approached TRAI seeking recommendations on reserve price, block size, quantum and other modalities for auction of mobile spectrum in eight existing bands, including 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1,800 MHz, 2,100 MHz and 2,300 MHz, according to sources.

Other bands where TRAI’s views have been sought by the Department of Telecom (DoT) include 2,500 MHz, 3,300 MHz and 2,6GHz bands.

DoT has also urged the telecom regulator to offer fresh recommendations for auction of spectrum in 600 MHz bands.

TRAI has also been asked to look at the possibility of auction for newly identified 6,425-6,725 MHz and 7,025-7,125 MHz bands for recommendations on auction timing, band plan, reserve price, and terms and conditions.

In the last auction held in 2024, Sunil Bharti Mittal’s Airtel had emerged as the biggest bidder for radio waves used to transmit mobile phone voice and data signals, cornering about 60 per cent of the Rs 11,341 crore worth of spectrum sold after two days of bidding in June.

While Bharti Airtel bid and won airwaves worth Rs 6,856.76 crore, rival Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio – the market leader – had got Rs 973.62 crore worth of spectrum – the least in the three-corner contest.

Troubled Vodafone Idea had bagged spectrum valued Rs 3,510.4 crore.

In all, 141.4 MHz of radio waves were sold for Rs 11,340.78 crore In 2024 auction.

The government had offered a total of 10 GHz of spectrum ranging between 800 MHz and 26 GHz, which was worth Rs 96,238 crore at the base or auction start price.

However, only a small amount of the spectrum on offer got sold in seven rounds of auction held last year. PTI

Donald Trump wants to punish ABC News for his bad debate night.“I think ABC took a big hit last night,” Trump told Fox & Friends during a phone debrief early Wednesday morning. “To be honest, they are a news organization — they have to be licensed to do it — they ought to take away their license for the way they did that.”His call for federal censorship of a broadcaster for merely correcting his blatant falsehoods may offer insights into how the budding authoritarian plans to govern if he is allowed to return to the Oval Office. But as a historian of conservative news, I am also struck by what this episode reveals about the distorted memories of Trump and his supporters — regarding their movement’s relationship to both the Federal Communications Commission and to ABC.

First, technically, broadcast networks aren’t subjected to FCC licensure — though their affiliate stations are. Furthermore, there is no current regulation that authorizes the FCC to punish broadcasters for biased news or commentary. Perhaps Trump is misremembering the “Fairness Doctrine,” a mid-20th century policy that required broadcasters to provide balanced coverage of issues of public controversy. But that regulation was only rarely and often begrudgingly enforced against the networks , and it was abolished by the Reagan administration in 1987.

Second, conservative belief in “liberal media” bias has long driven media activists to think of initiatives to amplify a right-wing worldview. High on the list is boosting Republican commentators and building conservative media outlets. And ABC has played a surprisingly outsize role in their efforts.

In the early 1950s, amid the Second Red Scare, ABC’s radio and television networks distributed Answers for Americans, a current affairs program funded by the right-wing Texas oilman HL Hunt. While technically in compliance with Fairness Doctrine requirements, including panelists from differing perspectives, the program was geared toward framing current affairs to conform with the burgeoning modern conservative viewpoint.

By the late 1950s, ABC president Leonard Goldenson had struck up a friendship with a young Rupert Murdoch when the budding Australian media mogul visited the US to learn more about the television industry. Murdoch sold ABC a 6% stake in News Ltd., the Australia-based precursor to News Corporation, in exchange for exclusive rights to air ABC television shows in Australia.

Murdoch’s deal with the network allowed him to establish a foothold in Australian television, a crucial step in News Corporation’s transformation into a global media conglomerate. By 1996, he would leverage the company’s economies of scale to launch the conservative Fox News Channel — enabling it to run at a loss for four years until finally breaking even in 2000.

He wouldn’t be the only one. In 1988, not long after the Reagan administration ended the Fairness Doctrine, ABC Radio offered an obscure yet controversial Sacramento talk radio host the early afternoon slot on its national radio network: Rush Limbaugh. He would go on to resurrect the AM radio industry, establishing himself as perhaps the country’s most influential right-wing radio commentator until his death from cancer in 2021.

None of these boosts have stopped conservatives from accusing ABC of bias in the past. Edith Efron’s conservative-funded 1971 study of broadcasting news coverage of the 1968 presidential campaign used lax methods to find “evidence” of liberal and anti-conservative bias on all three major networks .

A smaller-scale study conducted by the movement-aligned magazine Conservative Digest in 1984 found ABC to be the “least biased” of the three major broadcast networks. But the magazine nevertheless complained that, while covering that year’s major party conventions, ABC had “described the Republicans as ‘very conservative,’ ‘right-wing’ and ‘far right.’” Based on the party’s policies and rhetoric then , those terms are fairly accurate.

But the modern conservative movement has long appealed to people who see a disconnect between the world as it is and the world as they think it “ought to be” — accuracy be damned.

Tuesday night was the latest example. Trump turned what should have been a softball question about Biden administration immigration policy into a convoluted diatribe about crowd sizes at his rallies, followed by a bizarre digression into spreading racist rumors about people eating house pets.

His supporters can’t admit he performed poorly or that he was lying without disrupting the worldview they’ve built around him. So, the problem, in their eyes, is with moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis for refusing to pander to them.

“I’ve been telling you guys for years how much ABC hates Republicans,” the self-identified conservative nepo baby Meghan McCain characteristically complained on X.

If that’s true, the network has had a funny way of showing it. LiveMint

Starlink the satellite-based internet service provider owned by Elon Musk – will begin India operations within 12 months by offering 600 to 700 Gbps, or gigabytes per second, of bandwidth, Department of Telecommunications said.

This initial beaming capacity will only support between 30,000 and 50,000 users at a time and in certain cities or built-up areas, but this will eventually expand to a staggering 3 Tbps, or terabytes per second, by 2027, DoT sources said, pending regulatory approval.

Two to three ‘Earth station sites’ – Starlink’s name for centres connecting its array of satellites to the internet – have been identified, with nine ‘gateways’ planned per site, sources said.

A gateway is the bridge operating from an ‘Earth station’. It links the user to the internet, enabling delivery of high-speed internet by connecting the satellites to the global internet infrastructure.

Starlink India Prices
Sources also said Starlink plans to introduce a direct-to-consumer, or DTC, model in India, which will allow individuals to skip intermediaries providing the same service – i.e., ISPs like Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, and Reliance Jio – and purchase a personal internet connection.

Airtel and Jio – India’s largest telecom operators and internet service providers – have already signed B2B, or business-to-business deals with Starlink to sell its satellite-based internet.

The DTC model is expected to be a premium service, with personal Starlink ground stations to cost between $250 and $600, which is roughly Rs 20,000 to Rs 50,000.

This is in line with global prices, although the company will also have one eye on India’s reputation as a price-conscious market and the already low cost of data in the country.

Starlink Licence Close
With Starlink expected to rollout within nine months, or at most a year, sources said the company’s Global Licensing Head, Parnil Urdhwareshe, met DoT officials this month.

The Department of Technology is in the process of securing bank guarantees from SATCOM, or satellite companies, providers, and is expected to grant Starlink a license by mid-June.

Sources, however, stressed the grant of licence is tied to Starlink’s unconditional agreement to terms; Musk’s company is understood to be currently reviewing these terms.

Centre Greenlights Starlink
Earlier this month the government issued a letter of intent to Starlink, which has been trying to enter the Indian market since 2022. Earlier both Airtel and Jio had opposed its entry.

However, in October last year the government decided it would allot bandwidth to Starlink.

Space-focused financial firm Quilty Space projects Starlink will add three million subscribers globally in 2025, with a million coming from Asia, its director of research Caleb Henry said.

Henry told Reuters India will be the biggest contributor to Starlink’s Asia growth. NDTV

According to a new report published by Allied Market Research, titled, “Satellite Data Services Market,” The satellite data services market size was valued at $11 billion in 2023, and is estimated to reach $59.7 billion by 2033, growing at a CAGR of 18.7% from 2024 to 2033.

Satellite data services supply earth information and data, which is generated and captured by man-made satellites that travel around the orbit of the earth. These satellite data are most used for observing earth, providing information on the chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of the planet. Satellite data services are preferred in various applications such as military and agriculture, owing to their features such as accuracy and efficiency. It helps the defense department to monitor activities at border and aids agriculture department in monitoring weather to overcome disasters.

It is widely used in various applications, including geospatial data acquisition & mapping, defense & intelligence, energy, construction & infrastructure development, natural resource management, conservation & research, media & entertainment, surveillance & security, and disaster management. Satellite data services are categorized into image data and data analytics, which have different operations such as image data processing and feature extraction as well as providing geospatial data and information in the form of real-time images. Advancements in remote sensing technology are likely to increase the satellite data services market share in emerging regions.

In addition, it helps to provide real time data such as transition plan information, fall eclipse information, messaging information, satellite coverage, polar orbit tracks, and general satellite status information. Satellite data services are widely used in various applications, including geospatial data acquisition & mapping, defense & intelligence, energy, construction & infrastructure development, natural resource management, conservation & research, media & entertainment, surveillance & security, and disaster management. As organizations and governments worldwide face challenges such as climate change, resource management, and urbanization, the need for accurate and real-time satellite data has become indispensable.

Satellite data services play a vital role in applications such as weather forecasting, mapping, and monitoring natural disasters. Rise in global warming and unpredictable atmospheric behavior boosts the demand for satellite data to understand and mitigate environmental risks. In addition, the integration of satellite data into Geographic Information Systems (GIS), urban planning, and energy resource exploration has revolutionized decision-making processes. Moreover, the satellite data services market demand is fueled by the rising use of satellite imagery for climate change monitoring.

Factors such as surge in demand for satellite data from various industry verticals, increase in demand for earth observation satellites, and privatization of the space industry are expected to drive satellite data services market growth. However, stringent government regulations for the implementation of satellites and a lack of dedicated launch vehicles for small satellites hinder market growth. Further, increase in adoption of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), & cloud computing in the space sector; rise in use of satellite data in the development of smart cities & connected vehicles, and rise in NewSpace movement are some of the factors expected to offer lucrative opportunities for market growth.

Satellite images are used in urban planning and smart city development by providing valuable datasets with detailed information about specific objects and features. Urban planners use such data to understand settlement trends and ensure efficient infrastructure management. In addition, the rise in the use of remote sensing technology for zoning and city infrastructure modeling helps in meeting increase in demand for better management of sustainable urban development among city-based population. Fruther, increase in demand for real-time satellite data in logistics and supply chain management is one of the prominent satellite data services market trends.

The satellite data services industry is segmented on the basis of vertical, service, end use, and region. On the basis of vertical, the market is divided into energy & power, defense & intelligence, engineering & infrastructure, environmental, agriculture, maritime, insurance, and transportation & logistics. By service, it is classified into data analytics and image data. On the basis of end use, it is categorized into commercial and government & military. Region wise, it is studied across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA. Regional satellite data services market analysis reveals that Asia-Pacific is experiencing the fastest growth due to expanding satellite infrastructure.

Airbus S.A.S., East View Geospatial Inc., ImageSat International, L3Harris Technologies, Inc., Maxar Technologies, Planet Labs Inc., Satellite Imaging Corporation, SpecTIR LLC, Trimble Inc. and Ursa Space Systems Inc are some of the leading key players operating in the satellite data services market. NewsTrail

The optical transport equipment market grew 1 percent year-over-year in 1Q 2025, according to Dell’Oro. However, due to the strong demand for data center interconnect (DCI), particularly among large internet content providers, the optical equipment market in the North American region experienced a 24 percent year-over-year growth.

“This was another great quarter for optical transport gear in North America,” said Jimmy Yu, Vice President at Dell’Oro Group. “Now that we are out of the customer inventory correction phase or digestion period, as some like to call it, we are seeing renewed spending on DWDM systems for more capacity between data centers. We calculate that DCI spending increased over 40 percent year-over-year in the quarter, reaching a record revenue level. And this is just the direct spend by companies to build their networks. We think managed networks being built by operators for hyperscale companies is also growing on top of this,” added Yu.

Additional highlights from the 1Q 2025 Optical Transport Quarterly Report:

• The top three vendors in the quarter were Huawei, Ciena, and Nokia. All three vendors reported positive year-over-year growth rates of 2 percent, 15 percent, and 54 percent, respectively. Nokia’s high growth rate is attributed to the acquisition of Infinera, which was completed at the end of February 2025, and added one month of Infinera’s product revenue. If we combine Nokia and Infinera for all three months, the combined company revenue grew 19 percent.
• Three regions of the world that we report on posted strong double-digit growth rates in the quarter. The three regions were North America, Middle East and Africa, and India.
• Four regions of the world that we report on declined year-over-year. Those regions were China, Europe, Japan, and Latin America.
• Total WDM revenue was nearly flat year-over-year in 1Q 2025. DWDM Long Haul grew for a second consecutive quarter, and WDM Metro declined for a seventh consecutive quarter. We believe the adoption of IPoDWDM has been a headwind to the WDM Metro segment, contributing to its recent declines along with the inventory glut and poor macroeconomic conditions in many countries.

Dell’Oro

Revenue from one-time passwords (OTPs) sent via over-the-top (OTT) messaging applications will grow 600% over the next five years, from less than $300 million in 2024, according to Juniper Research.

Mobile identity solutions leverage the mobile phone number as a unique identifier for verifying users’ identities in digital solutions. OTPs are unique codes delivered through messaging channels, such as SMS, which a user can leverage to verify their identity.

While global mobile identity revenue has historically been attributed solely to operators, Juniper Research’s latest study identified OTT channels, such as WhatsApp and Viber, as the most prominent threat to this status quo. Enterprises will be attracted to the channel’s end-to-end encryption, amidst high levels of fraud present across operators’ SMS networks today.

Identity APIs to Minimise Traffic Migration to OTT Channels
To combat the growth of mobile identity over OTT messaging channels, operators must provide Application Programming Interface (API) suites that provide increased value to enterprises than OTPs sent via OTT channels. To fully maximise the adoption of mobile identity APIs, Juniper Research has identified the SIM Swap API, which checks for illegitimate SIM swaps, as a service that provides an additional check which OTT channels are unable to provide; increasing the value of APIs to enterprises.

Research author Georgia Allen commented: “Unlike OTPs, which are susceptible to social engineering attacks, APIs provide robust authentication that is less vulnerable to such exploits. As operators launch these APIs, they must educate enterprises on these benefits, or risk losing authentication traffic to OTT channels.” Juniper Research