Arqiva is looking to wind down or sell its SNG (satellite newsgathering) division as it focuses its efforts on providing international connectivity for its broadcast clients.

At the end of last week, Arqiva staff were told that the company had decided to stop investing in its UK SNG operation ahead of a three-month review of the business.

There could be a “slow shift” to an outsourced model, as Arqiva continues to operate its fleet of trucks until the end of their useful life, or it might look to sell the business and assets, according to Arqiva managing director, satellite and media, David Crawford.

Arqiva’s occasional use (OU) SNG division comprises 12 HD and SD trucks, as well as flyaway kit that is used primarily to deliver live sports events and some news and remote-location productions.

The division works with clients such as IMG and NBC to deliver around 4,000 transmissions a month and transmits in the region of 125,000 hours of sport content a year.

Crawford said Arqiva’s offer to the market would not change, and that its SNG requirements could instead be covered through a “strong managed service proposition with trusted third parties”.

He added: “Where we have a competitive edge is our teleport services around OU, and we want to remain strong around internetenabled contribution services.

“Larger clients come to us for managed services at an international level. When we offer international services, we regularly use third parties [for SNG services].

“In the UK, we operate a mixed model of in-house and outsourced.”

Crawford said Arqiva had invested in international points of presence over the past few years, and is now keen to bolster its teleport service and satellite and international fibre connectivity.