1worldspace
| Industry | Broadcasting – Radio |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1990 |
| Headquarters | Silver Spring, Maryland, U.S. |
|
Key people
|
Noah A. Samara, Chairman & CEO |
| Products | Satellite Radio |
| Revenue |
 $13.78 Million US$ (2007) |
 -$169.51 Million US$ (2007) |
|
|
Number of employees
|
40 (2009) |
1worldspace, formerly known as 'WorldSpace', is a defunct satellite radio network that in its heyday provided service to over 170,000 subscribers in eastern and southern Africa, the Middle East, and much of Asia with 96% coming from India. It was profitable in India, with 450,000 subscribers.
Timbre Media along with Saregama India planned to relaunch the company.
The satellites AfriStar and AsiaStar however are now being used by the Yazmi USA, LLC run by WorldSpace's former CEO Noah A. Samara. The company claims to have built the first satellite-to-tablet content delivery system. The system primarily aims at providing educational services to rural areas in developing countries. The first pilots of the technology are said to be taking place in India (with 30,000 licenses) and the sub-Saharan region in Africa, with the latest trials in two schools in South Africa, in Rietkol, in Mpumalanga Province, and at Heathfield, in Western Cape.
The company headquarters were located in Silver Spring, MD and additional studios were located in Washington, DC, Bangalore, Mumbai, New Delhi, and Nairobi. Before filing for bankruptcy in October 2008, 1worldspace employed two satellites and broadcast 62 channels – 38 of which were content provided by international, national and regional third parties and 24 1worldspace-branded stations produced by or for 1worldspace. Most of the channels used to be available only through a subscription plan.
1worldspace claimed to be the only company with rights to the world's globally allocated spectrum for digital satellite radio. However, it never made use of its license to broadcast to the Americas or the Caribbean. The company gained attention around 2000 because of its willingness to invest in impoverished areas and from 2006 to the present due to its financial difficulties and bankruptcy proceedings.
The company filed for bankruptcy in October 2008. For a while Liberty Media sought to buy the assets, but in June 2010, a company called Yazmi USA owned by former WorldSpace founder, chairman, and CEO Noah Samara purchased the remains for US$5.5M.
European operations were liquidated in the spring of 2009.
On December 25, 2009, the company issued notices to all of its subscribers in India that WorldSpace service in India would officially be terminated from December 31, 2009, with no refunds given to its subscribers, on account of bankruptcy.
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