Israeli TV provider DBS Satellite Services (1998) Ltd. (Yes) and Facebook are among the companies hit hard by the loss of Spacecom Satellite Communications Ltd's. (TASE:SCC) Amos 6 communications satellite in yesterday's SpaceX explosion in Florida.
At present Yes broadcasts using the Amos 2 and Amos 3 satellites with the former set to go out of service. The company had been planning to seamlessly move broadcasts to Amos 6. Yes is already exploring alternative options including broadcasting over the Internet.
In any event, Yes clearly has a capacity problem, and it has already announced that it will be reducing the number of channels that it broadcasts - mainly marginal rather than mainstream channels. Yes will now be forced to broadcast channels over the Internet, as Cellcom Israel Ltd. (NYSE:CEL; TASE:CEL) already does. It should be noted that all Yes's VOD broadcasts are already over the Internet, so the satellite broadcaster should easily be able to cope with the loss of Amos 6.
Facebook had signed a $100 million deal for Amos 6 services t provide Internet connectivity to parts of Africa. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on his Facebook page, “As I’m here in Africa, I’m deeply disappointed to hear that SpaceX’s launch failure destroyed our satellite that would have provided connectivity to so many entrepreneurs and everyone else across the continent.”
Facebook also has alternative plans, "Fortunately, we have developed other technologies like Aquila that will connect people as well,” Zuckerberg added.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on September 2, 2016
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