Robert Lakos

Robert Lakos is the founder of the Deleel TV project which is dedicated to improving TV for the mass markets throughout MENA. He believes the key to a healthy TV ecosystem is vertical cooperation and coordination all the way from content and transmission through to the set-top-boxes that output to television sets in consumers’ homes.

Robert is currently consulting on Eutelsat’s Sat.tv project to improve FTA satellite TV in MENA. The Sat.tv services launch in September 2020 and providing consumers with a rich 7-day EPG for all FTA channels at the 7/8ºW and Hotbird locations.

Robert got his start in satellite television in 1990 when he joined the sales department of US based satellite giant EchoStar. He held an array of senior positions at EchoStar and its pay TV sister company Dish Network, covering sales and distribution, content acquisition, STB development, mobile television, terrestrial microwave distribution, and business development. More recently before moving on to launch the Deleel TV project he was Chief Commercial Officer of Dubai based low cost pay TV operator My-HD.

Throughout Robert’s career in satellite TV, the Middle East North African region has been a prominent part of his portfolio. His regional expertise ranges from Arabic language TV channels to souq-based distribution of set-top-boxes.

Robert studied Arabic at AUC in Cairo, Egypt, holds a BA from Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts, and an MBA from ASU’s Thunderbird School of Global Management in Phoenix, Arizona. He is fluent in Arabic, French, German and Swahili.