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SHVERA's 30; Arianespace Readys Launch; Spacenet Cuts Price; OTT "Myth"? |
| 25 Feb 2010 - 15:39 by soullezz |
Industry News
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• Another 30-day extension for SHVERA? It's starting to look that way ....
• Arianespace is poised to roar on its first Ariane 5 flight of 2010 as two COMSATBw satellites are on the ground at the space facility in French Guiana. Designed to provide a secure broadband network for the German armed forces, the satellites are scheduled for launch on March 24.
• Spacenet has - for now - dropped its Starband equipment price by $200 to $99 - including existing orders for new subscribers.
• Lots of noise about viewers shifting from traditional cable or satellite services to just online ... but a tidbit in an interesting story by SNL Kagan's Sarah Barry James based on an interview with Parks Associates' John Barrett suggests the cord-cutter is "kind of an industry myth." Barrett says, "statistically speaking, we can't really find this guy." The telling note in the story is that Parks found "that less than 8% of US broadband households - or 5.5 million homes - are considering dropping their pay TV service sometime in the future in favor of online video." Or not. Half of those are just thinking of switching providers. While these numbers are significant to anyone's bottom line, the sky isn't falling ... yet.
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Hughes 4Q: Consumer Segment on a Roll |
| 25 Feb 2010 - 15:36 by soullezz |
Industry News
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Hughes Communications 4Q and full year 2009 results saw strong growth on the consumer side: Fourth quarter revenues were up by 15% year over year; 14k net new subscribers were added in the quarter (beating the 2008 period by 18%); and consumer ARPU increased to $72 for the quarter up from $68 year-over-year.
Hughes Network Systems had 504k North American subs on its HughesNet service at the end of the fourth quarter, for a growth of 17% across the year.
Given these numbers – attained across a year of deep recession –we've got to wonder why the DC powers-that-be aren't putting more muscle behind satellite in their national broadband initiatives. Maybe Hughes should send small planes trailing "Look Up!" banners across the area?
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M7 Picks Pace; 3D Sets at Sears; News Corp. in Middle East; Outdoor Promotion |
| 24 Feb 2010 - 13:57 by soullezz |
Industry News
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• U.K. set-top-box manufacturer Pace will supply M7 DTH with its "next generation" HDTV boxes. Selling under the CanalDigitaal, TV Vlaanderen and TeleSAT brands, M7 has already begun to deploy the new Pace basic HD box with new HD PVR boxes set to follow later this year.
• Sears and Samsung are gearing up for 3D to the masses as Sears announces the availability of Samsung 3D LED TVs in its stores. Price tags are $2,599.99 for a 46-in set and $3,299.99 for the 55-in model.
• News Corp. has closed on its deal to buy 9.09% of Saudi-based Rotana, which bills itself as the Arab world's largest entertainment company.
• The Outdoor Channel has boosted Greg Harrigan to EVP of Advertising Sales. Harrigan will oversee the company's national advertising sales activities and operations.
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Space Highs in '09; Lows in '10? |
| 24 Feb 2010 - 13:56 by soullezz |
Industry News
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Last year was a fat one for government spending on space ... but don't expect a repeat in 2010.
Thus concludes Euroconsult's latest tome on space spending. The consultancy finds that worldwide government space dollars grew by 10% in 2009 over 2008 hitting a historical peak of $68 billion. Budgets in six countries (the United States, Russia, Japan, China, France and Germany) soared over $1 billion in '09. More than half of total global expenditures ($36 billion) went to government backed civil space programs, a figure which represents a 9% increase over the previous year.
However, Euroconsult reports, watch for funding to be "reined in over the next several years" as evidenced by recent cuts in the U.S.
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Eutelsat Gains; DIRECTV in Colombia; Sky Italia Appeals to EC |
| 20 Feb 2010 - 17:06 by soullezz |
Industry News
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• Eutelsat Riding High: With first half revenues up by 9.6% to €508 million ($691.7 million), Paris-based Eutelsat is now pumping for full year revenues to pass €1,020 million ($1,388.9 million) with EBITDA hitting €795 million ($1,079.3 million). The satellite operator now beams 3,448 channels from its fleet with HD passing the 100 mark.
• DIRECTV Seeks Colombian Slot: DIRECTV, Telefonica Teleco, Telmex and Comtelsat have all joined the race to launch free-to-air DTH services in Colombia. In response to an RFP from Colombia's National Television Commission, the four are seeking to serve the 8% of Colombians with no access to pay TV. Winner of the RFP race will be announced in July.
• Sky Italia to EC: Rebuffed by a court in Rome, News Corp is turning to the European Commission in its fight with Silvio Berlusconi's Mediaset. Mediaset has refused to take advertising for News Corp's Sky Italia.
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A Sirius "Wahooo!" |
| 20 Feb 2010 - 17:05 by soullezz |
Industry News
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For the first time in 17 months, shares from Sirius XM Radio topped the $1 point on Wednesday (and moved up more on Thursday to close at $1.13). After going as low as 5¢ last February that's cause for major celebration .... It's also cause for avoiding delisting on the NASDAQ.
Now come the big questions: (1) Will Sirius re-sign Howard Stern? (According to Reuters, Lazard Capital Markets analyst Barton Crockett says that's a "yes" ... for $80 million in cash.) And (2) Will Mel Karmazin still pursue his reverse split strategy? (That, again according to Reuters, is a "maybe.")
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DIRECTV's 4Q: Money Hot, Subscribers Not |
| 20 Feb 2010 - 17:04 by soullezz |
Industry News
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Cash flow is roaring through DIRECTV's offices these days as the U.S. DBS No. 1 reported cash flow up 64% to a record $710 million for 4Q09. That's more or less what analysts have been hoping for: As far back as early last year, predictions were that the company would work to cut costs and boost revenues.
Speaking of revenues, DIRECTV's 4Q consolidated revenues jumped 13% to nearly $6 billion and the company has announced a $3.5 billion stock repurchase program. For the fourth quarter, it should be noted, income attributable to DIRECTV showed a year-over-year loss, due primarily to costs related to the merger with Liberty Entertainment.
On subscriber numbers ... DIRECTV U.S. reports 939K net new subs for 2009 (a four-year high); DIRECTV Latin America scored an all-time high of 692,000 for '09. On a quarterly basis, DIRECTV U.S. came in with a relatively paltry 119,000 net new additions, below Wall Street estimates and far below the 301k attained in the fourth quarter of 2008. The company attributes the lower numbers to "the competitive environment, a weaker economy and more stringent credit and spending policies."
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A Boost for Sat/Cable VOD?; TerreStar Promotion; DIRECTV Before the Bell |
| 18 Feb 2010 - 14:29 by soullezz |
Industry News
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• A Redbox Boost for VOD? Hemmed in by pressure from Warner Brothers, WalMart and Target, Redbox has accepted its first 28-day window on DVD releases, with others expected to follow. That equals bad news for Redbox, says Pali's Richard Greenfield (he thinks turns per DVD could drop 35-50% over time). But it could be good news for other players including cable/satellite VOD. Says Richfield, "This is a dream come true for the cable and satellite industry." However, he adds, "Now it is up to the cable/satellite industry to vastly improve awful user interfaces before iVOD platforms gain traction with consumers." For Richfield's analysis, click here.
• TerreStar Promotion: Jeffrey Epstein has added CEO to his existing duties as President at TerreStar Corp. TerreStar, via its TerreStar Networks, is focused on providing "a reliable and secure satellite terrestrial mobile broadband network" including voice, data and video services.
• DIRECTV Before the Bell: DIRECTV reports its 4Q09 numbers before the opening bell today but by late yesterday afternoon, Wall Street was offering clues on what it expects to see. Citi's Jason Bazinet projects net adds of 203k (v. 301k for 4Q08), ARPU up slightly to $91.69 and SAC down to $705. Fourth quarter revenues are estimated at $5.92 billion. Bazinet maintains a Buy on the stock, which he considers "undervalued."
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Liberty Media/DIRECTV Class Action; Long Time NRTC Head to Retire |
| 18 Feb 2010 - 14:28 by soullezz |
Industry News
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Liberty Media/DIRECTV Class Action
A class action lawsuit against Liberty Media says that Liberty boss John Malone and family gained a $160 million bonus not shared with other shareholders via the takeover/merger with DIRECTV. The suit, in Chancery Court, Wilmington, DE, claims that 'super voting shares' awarded to Malone and special concessions for Liberty Media directors left small shareholders in the dust. Lead plaintiff for the suit is Blackthorn Partners, the largest public shareholder of Liberty Media. (First reported by the Courthouse News Service.)
Long Time NRTC Head to Retire
After 23 years at the helm of the National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative, Bob Phillips has announced his retirement, due to take effect at the end of May. Phillips helped launch a number of cutting-edge technologies to rural america, including DBS (at one time the NRTC boasted nearly 2 million DIRECTV subscribers through its network of dealers) and high speed internet.
NRTC SVP of operations Jack Harvey will serve as interim CEO during the search for a new chief executive.
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HD Launches in Top DMAs |
| 16 Feb 2010 - 14:16 by soullezz |
Industry News
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In 2009, more than 78,000 HD channels were added to lineups across the United States. Looking at cable and telco video alone, the peak times for HD launches were the last three months of 2009.
MediaCensus HD Launch reports provide detailed insight on precisely who is launching what HD networks, where and when. The chart below, based on HD Launch report data, illustrates that in 2009 15% of all HD channels were added in the top five DMAs, particularly New York.
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BSkyB Closing in on Virgin Channels |
| 16 Feb 2010 - 14:08 by soullezz |
Industry News
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Having sold much of its stake in ITV, BSkyB is now poised to buy Virgin Media's wholly-owned channels, according to the U.K.'s The Guardian newspaper. Virgin Media has seven wholly-owned channels, including LIVING, Virgin1, Bravo (a channel for men) and Challenge.
Talks between the two U.K. media heavyweights are reportedly stalled over Virgin's 50% stake in UKTV, a joint venture between Virgin and BBC Worldwide. However, most observers expect the deal to go through significantly boosting Sky's wholly-owned channel count at a cost that is expected to come in under the initial asking price of £500 million ($784.7 million).
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Over There: FreeHD Canada; Arabsat |
| 14 Feb 2010 - 19:25 by soullezz |
Industry News
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• FreeHD Canada has won limited approval from the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). The company plans to offer a free package of local channels to customers who purchase the satellite receiver equipment.
The service says it will over more than 200 HD channels starting in 2011. Long time Canadian satellite veteran David Lewis is founder of the FreeHD Canada service.
Arabsat is preparing to launch a handful of free HD channels to the Mideast, according to Rapid TV News. The channels will reportedly include Luxe TV’s luxury channel, NHK World, Alfacam’s HD1 channel. An encrypted channel from Canal+ may be included.
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DISH Boosts HD; Launches: Arianespace Notches Another |
| 14 Feb 2010 - 19:24 by soullezz |
Industry News
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DISH Boosts HD
DISH has boosted its HD roster by nine, with new HD channels including: Fox Soccer, Sportsman, Hallmark, IndiePlex and RetroPlex, which are only available on DISH Network. Other HD channels added are truTV, E!, BBC America and SHOWTIME®. The No. 2 DBS provider now claims an HD line-up of more than 160 channels.
In some cases, DISH subscribers will need upgraded equipment to receive the new HD services.
Launches: Arianespace Notches Another
Arianespace has been chosen to launch the French-Italian Athena-Fidus dual use satellite with liftoff slated for 2013. The French-Italian telecommunications satellite will provide advanced broadband technologies to French and Italian armed forces and civil security agencies.
Meanwhile, SES has chosen International Launch Services (ILS) to launch its SES-3 satellite with the Kazsat-2 telecommunications satellite in 2011.
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Global Telco TV Up ... Satellite & Cable Down? |
| 12 Feb 2010 - 01:19 by soullezz |
Industry News
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Global telco TV revenues will reach nearly $17 billion this year, say analysts from ABI Research. Despite economic turmoil, says analyst Serene Fong, telco TV hit $12 billion in '09 with Western Europe generating the largest share of revenues. Other telco TV hotspots are found in the Asia-Pacific region where revenues are forecast to reach $8 billion by the end of 2014.
What's good news for the telcos, however, could be bad news for cable and satellite players at least on a global scale. “Both satellite and cable TV service revenues are found to be growing slowly due to the more restrained growth in the number of subscribers,” comments ABI research associate Khin Sandi Lynn. “Telco TV service revenue will grow rapidly due to customers’ increased adoption of triple play services.”
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Satellite Industry Innovators |
| 12 Feb 2010 - 01:19 by soullezz |
Industry News
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The Society of Satellite Professionals International (SSPI) has announced recipients of its 2010 Industry Innovators awards. The awards include:
• For Service Development & Applications: The US Broadcast Networks (all four of them) for the digital conversion; and Télécom sans Frontiéres, which provides satellite phone service and internet connections to relief workers and governments in disaster areas.
• For Systems Development & Applications: The Inmarsat-4 spacecraft which serves about 98% of the global population via 256 spotbeams offering bandwidth based on demand; and the Satellite Users Interference Reduction Group and WBU-ISOG, for leadership over many years in the effort to reduce the impact of satellite radio frequency interference .
• For Technology Development & Applications: Cisco Systems Internet Router in Space, for its hosted satellite payload which can route IP traffic on the satellite, eliminating the need for extra ground links; and NASA Innovations in Space Communications and Robotic Operations Related to the Deep Space Network, Mars Exploration and the Hubble Space Telescope, for innovations in deep space communications and robotics.
The awards will be made at a ceremony sponsored by Booz & Co. on March 16th, just before the SSPI's annual Gala to be held in National Harbor, MD. For more information, go to: http://www.sspi.org.
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News Corp: High & Immodest |
| 4 Feb 2010 - 00:55 by soullezz |
Industry News
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Smiles on the News Corp. front yesterday as the company's fourth quarter (well, second quarter technically) results came in above Wall Street expectations. Overall the company reported earnings of $0.25/share on revenues of $8.7 billion. That's nicely over estimates of $0.20 and $8.23 billion.
On the downside, digital earnings were down $32 million year-over-year, "principally due to lower search and advertising revenue" plus a -$29 million on fire sales for some not-such-good-bets as Rotten Tomatoes and Photobucket.
With all due immodesty, CEO Rupert Murdoch noted that his company "has endured the most severe recession since the Great Depression and emerged as the world's most pre-eminent content company." Further, he added in predicting a bright future for his massive enterprise, "Content is not just king but emperor of all things electronic."
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DIRECTV's 1 Millionth App; Broadband Hotspots & More |
| 4 Feb 2010 - 00:54 by soullezz |
Industry News
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• DIRECTV says that more than 1 million DVR iPhone apps have been downloaded in less than one year. The app, first introduced in March 2009 in the Apple App Store, lets customers schedule their DVRs remotely.
• The hottest of the satellite broadband hotspots – the Middle East, Asia and Africa – will have yet more IP-over-bird options. SkyDelta Satellite Networks says it has three iDirect hubs onboard to serve small businesses in the region.
• Watch for GOTV IPTV service to launch March 1. The service from Atlantis Technology Group's Global Online Television Corp aims to be a leading global provider of IPTV service. A video demo will be released befrore the launch.
• BET launched its new web series, "Shop Talk: What's on the Hearts of Men" yesterday. Look for lots of talk in a barbershop.
• ESPN reports an average of 12.3 million viewers for the 2010 Pro Bowl ... but for our money the real show was over at the X Games (also ESPN.)
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DISH Doings: HD Addition & A Relaunched Website |
| 4 Feb 2010 - 00:53 by soullezz |
Industry News
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Fox Soccer HD is gearing up for a launch on the DISH Network, set for Feb. 10. According to a posting on the Fox Soccer website (brought to our attention by the folks at SatelliteGuys.US) , the HD net will be part of DISH's Top 250 and above.
Meanwhile check out the redesigned DISH website: It's got a nice clean look, the usual DISH mantra of deals, deals, deals plus prominent placement for what DISH heads bill as "the truth" about their network v. DIRECTV and cable. Again, "the truth" is mostly focused on deals, deals, deals ... but with increasing evidence that consumers are feeling tapped out by video fees, that might just resonate.
In related news, DISH cohort EchoStar Satellite Services announced that Mega Hertz has joined the company's ViP-TV Reseller program ... meaning, of course, that more feet on the street to sell the EchoStar IPTV solution to cable and telcoTV advocates.
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