Global television content provider Globecast is calling for satellite operators to keep prices down to better confront the terrestrial competition and is asking for the satellite industry to take greater steps to mitigate signal interference, whether accidental or intentional, Globecast Chief Executive Olivier Barberot said during the World Satellite Business Week conference in Paris Sept. 12-16.
Program distributors like Globecast — which had 416 million euros ($582 million) in 2010 revenue, with 12 teleports and 86 transponders booked on 24 satellites, in addition to a fiber network — are positioning themselves to defend their businesses against satellite operators seeking to expand beyond raw bandwidth provision.
Barberot said one of the challenges that Paris-based Globecast faces in the coming years is to provide added value to its customers to differentiate Globecast from a satellite fleet operator.
Barberot said Globecast remains optimistic that the audiovisual industry market, which grew by 7.1 percent globally in 2010, will average nearly 6 percent annual growth through 2014. Areas of relatively modest growth such as Western Europe and North America will be more than offset by fast-growing regions including the Middle East, Latin America and parts of Asia, he said.
Barberot said the African market is likewise growing fast, but that a satellite shortage in recent years may be replaced by an overcapacity as new spacecraft arrive over the region.
