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| EchoStar Payment Boosts TiVo's 3Q Net Income |
TiVo's third quarter financial numbers got a boost from its legal case involving EchoStar/DISH Network.
TiVo reported that third quarter net income was $100.6 million, compared to a loss of $8.3 million for the same period last year. The figure got a boost from the nearly $105 million EchoStar/DISH Network paid to TiVo tied to the DVR pioneer's patent infringement litigation filed against the DBS company. When excluding the EchoStar damages award, TiVo said it would have recorded a net loss of $900,000 for the quarter.
TiVo CEO Tom Rogers said the company is looking forward to a hearing scheduled in February that will focus on EchoStar's "workaround" contained in its DVRs. The Texas federal court handling the matter will take up whether the satellite TV company is in contempt of an injunction in the case concerning the workaround, which aims to address TiVo's patent infringement claims.
Rogers called the upcoming hearing "a positive step, particularly the accelerated discovery ordered by the court, towards the ultimate resolution of all issues in the litigation." He added, "We remain confident that we will prevail in showing that EchoStar's workaround does not avoid infringement, that the District Court will ultimately enforce the injunction and award further damages from EchoStar's continued infringement of our Time Warp patent."
As for other business dealings, Rogers highlighted TiVo's ongoing relationship with Comcast, and boasted about the company's extended distribution agreement with DIRECTV. Also, Rogers spoke about TiVo's partnership with Netflix to stream more than 12,000 videos to the TV.
In addition, Rogers promoted TiVo's financial standing, pointing out the company's $200 million in cash assets, lack of debt and its subscription model.
In terms of customers, TiVo said its internally-owned subscribers ended the quarter at 1.658 million. That reflects a net decline of about 28,000. Customers with MSO partners fell by 135,000, for a final tally of 1.8 million. TiVo ended the quarter with a cumulative 3.46 million subscribers.
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| 29 Nov 2008 - 12:20 by soullezz |
Industry News
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| INTERNATIONAL: EchoStar in Poland, Hungarian DTH, Bell TV News |
EchoStar Europe, the overseas unit of the digital TV technology company, said Cyfrowy Polsat, the largest Polish satellite TV platform serving 2.4 million subscribers in the country, will use its advanced, high-def set-top box --- According to press reports, Hungarian incumbent telco Magyar Telekom is launching a national DTH platform.
The service will face strong competition given that Hungary is already served by DTH platforms from UPC Direct, Digi TV and Hello HD --- According to press reports, Canadian satellite TV service Bell TV is informing customers that they may likely see a price increase in their bill, amounting to about $4 a month.
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| 25 Nov 2008 - 13:56 by soullezz |
Industry News
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| Given Detroit's Woes, What's At Stake for Sirius? |
Given the woes experienced by the big three U.S. automakers, what could be at stake for the satellite radio business?
The automotive sector is a big deal for Sirius XM, generating a significant amount of customers for the satellite radio service. But the car business is in trouble, with General Motors, Ford and Chrysler hoping for government help to keep their businesses afloat through next year.
Sirius XM said it ended the third quarter with 18.92 million subscribers, up 17 percent from third quarter 2007. During the 2008 period, Sirius XM netted 344,100 subscribers.
By far the biggest group of new subscribers came from the automotive - or OEM (original equipment manufacturer) - sector, which generated 492,215 new subscriptions for the Sirius XM service in the third quarter. Rental vehicles accounted for 1,282 net additions.
The retail side of the satellite radio business recorded a net loss of customers in the quarter, amounting to 149,416. When the retail loss is combined with OEM and rental gains, Sirius XM netted those 344,081 customers in the quarter.
OEM customers accounted for 9.7 million of Sirius XM's subscriber base, while 9 million customers represented the retail portion, said the company.
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| 25 Nov 2008 - 13:55 by soullezz |
Industry News
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| DISH Partners with Rentrak for Audience Measurement |
On Monday, DISH Network said it signed an agreement with Rentrak to report the measurement of set-top box click-stream television data from millions of set top boxes.
Rentrak's TV Essentials delivers anonymous viewer measurement data from DISH's set-top boxes, including second-by-second television programming and advertising information. DISH said it will use Rentrak's TV Essentials system along with other tools to analyze anonymous audience viewing of programming and advertising for linear television and to generate detailed viewer measurement information.
Through the technology, DISH Network and its advertising partners can gain performance intelligence by campaign, program and individual advertisement. TV Essentials will also report on DISH Network DVR and iTV services, the companies said.
In addition, Rentrak's TV Essentials is integrated with DISH Network's traffic and billing systems for ad placement information.
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| 25 Nov 2008 - 13:55 by soullezz |
Industry News
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| Familiar Names for Obama's Tech Advisors, Waxman Closer to Committee Post |
Familiar names in the communications regulatory arena were named to President-Elect Barack Obama's transition team Wednesday.
Obama's technology, innovation and government reform group will be led by Julius Genachowski, who founded a venture capital firm and was a former chief counsel at the Federal Communications Commission, and Blair Levin, former chief of staff for FCC Chairman Reed Hundt who now works for Stifel Nicolaus. Sonal Shah, who leads Google's global development efforts, also was named to the team.
A few days ago, the Obama transition team named two academics to lead the review group that will advise the incoming president about changes at the FCC. The first pick, Susan Crawford, is a professor of law at the University of Michigan, teaching communications law and internet law. The second individual, Ken Werbach, is an assistant professor of legal studies and business ethics at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Meanwhile, Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif,) won support from a House Democratic leadership panel Wednesday to replace Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) as chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The decision now goes to the broader House Democrats caucus today.
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| 20 Nov 2008 - 06:36 by soullezz |
Industry News
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| Arianespace Launch, SES and Arrowhead |
Arianespace is preparing to orbit two satellites - Hot Bird 9 and W2M - for European operator Eutelsat. The mission is set to take place Dec. 10 --- SES New Skies said Arrowhead Global Solutions has signed a multi-year agreement for capacity on the NSS-12 satellite.
Arrowhead will use the capacity to support U.S. government needs in the Middle East and East Africa.
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| 20 Nov 2008 - 06:35 by soullezz |
Industry News
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| Tough Day on Street Impacts Satellite Stocks |
Another tough day on Wall Street also meant it was a troubling trading session for satellite stocks.
On Wednesday, the Dow fell below 8,000, finishing the day down more than 400 points at 7,997.28. That's the lowest close for the index since March 2003. Investors fretted about the survival of another financial giant, this time Citigroup, and the fate of Detroit's automobile manufacturing giants and whether they will receive any government assistance.
It could be said that any challenges facing the big three automakers - General Motors, Ford and Chrysler - could have an impact on Sirius XM, which generates a lot of customers through its automotive OEM channel. Shares in the satellite radio company tumbled 19 percent during trading Wednesday, closing at 16 cents a share, a new 52-week low for the Sirius XM stock.
If that wasn't enough, shares in DISH Network fell more than 8 percent to $9.62. EchoStar shares tumbled more than 5 percent to $14.01. DIRECTV stock fell more than 6 percent to $18.97.
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| 20 Nov 2008 - 06:35 by soullezz |
Industry News
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| Sirius Side of Biz Gets Upper Hand in Channel Changes |
As expected (and reported here earlier this week), Sirius XM launched its new programming lineup Wednesday, providing a condensed channel slate that - at times - combines similar music streams that were found on the separate services before their late summer merger.
And - as predicted - the Sirius side of the satellite radio business got the upper hand in the combination of music streams. For example, XM's Ethel and Lucy, both alternative channels, were replaced by Sirius' Alt Nation and Lithium. Also, the Spectrum replaced XM Cafe, Octane replaced XM hard rock channel Squizz, and First Wave from Sirius took over XM's Fred stream.
Sirius and XM subscribers also will get music, talk and comedy content from Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Jimmy Buffett, Elvis Presley, Grateful Dead, Eminem, Frank Sinatra, Jamie Foxx, Metropolitan Opera, NPR, Blue Collar Comedy, Cosmo Radio, Tom Petty, B.B. King, Willie Nelson, the Grand Ole' Opry, Barbara Walters, Deepak Chopra, and more.
Even with the new programming lineup, subscribers will receive the same number of music and non-music channels on the Sirius and XM services as they have in the past, the company said. Also, as an interesting sidebar, when promoting new selections the company emphasized the commercial-free music side of its business, not necessarily the sports, talk and news portion.
"This is the ultimate evolution for our channels and sets a new bar for audio entertainment. The breadth and quality of the new programming lineups make it clear that everything worth listening to is now on Sirius XM," said Scott Greenstein, Sirius XM's president and chief content officer.
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| 13 Nov 2008 - 06:27 by soullezz |
Industry News
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| Ciel-2 Satellite Ready for Dec. 10 Launch |
The Ciel-2 satellite, built for Canada's Ciel Satellite Group, has been delivered to the Baikonour Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and is now being prepared for a launch scheduled for Dec. 10.
The spacecraft, which will fly aboard a Proton launch vehicle, has been contracted by DISH Network. The satellite will reside at the 129-degree orbital location.
SES AMERICOM has a 70 percent economic interest in Ciel, which is based in Ottawa.
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| 13 Nov 2008 - 06:23 by soullezz |
Industry News
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| Sirius XM Says No To HD Radio Inclusion Proposal |
This week, Sirius XM told the Federal Communications Commission that the agency should not mandate satellite radio receiver manufacturers to include HD Radio capabilities in their receivers.
If such a requirement is made of those device makers, a comparable requirement should be imposed on HD Radio manufacturers to include satellite radio technology in their receivers, the company said.
In comments sent to the FCC, Sirius XM said any requirement for satellite radio to include HD radio technology in receivers is unnecessary and unwarranted. Also, the company said the current radio entertainment marketplace, including HD Radio, is thriving.
"Radio manufacturers are developing products that incorporate multiple audio entertainment functionalities, including HD Radio, satellite radio, MP3 and iPod capabilities," Sirius XM said in its comments. "As the market for HD Radio and other technologies matures and consumer demand for multi-functional devices grows, receiver manufacturers will integrate a variety of audio technologies into satellite radio receivers.
"The commission should allow this process to respond to consumer demand," the company added.
In addition, Sirius XM said any such mandate placed on receiver manufacturers or licensees would raise radio prices for consumers and become anticompetitive.
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| 13 Nov 2008 - 06:22 by soullezz |
Industry News
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| N3 is Coming |
N3 is coming down guys...BEV is mostly all gone now. (unless you own a NFusion and use IKS). Dishnet will be gone by December (that's the current rumored time schedule). Don't sweat this though, the coders are hard at work taking care of it. Just as when we had N2 come down, it will take a little time, but TV will be back.
However, if you own a older unit, you may not be able to continue into N3, so I advise you to look at sonicview recievers (availiable at http://www.EFTA.us) And also consider upgrading to HD, if you haven't already. And a quick reminder to all UBR (our private site) members that all units are availiable to you at dealer cost. (If you're a member please go to the site to find your link). N3 files will be private at first, and the day they are released the option to join will not exist, it will be removed from the site to stop file leakers. Untill they go public membership option will be closed.
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| 11 Nov 2008 - 09:27 by soullezz |
Industry News
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| Sirius XM: Positive on Outlook, Yet Layoffs Taking Shape |
Given the company's tanking stock price, the need to refinance debt and general economic challenges impacting its business, Sirius XM CEO Mel Karmazin said those closely watching the firm should he "pleased and proud" with the satellite radio service's ongoing efforts.
Why was Karmazin so positive, especially given other hurdles like slowing car sales and tightening customer spending, among other economic woes?
Revenue jumped 16 percent in the third quarter to $613 million, the top executive pointed out during a conference call with analysts Monday. Also, Karmazin said Sirius is on track to become EBITDA positive in 2009. And the company is preparing to refinance its debt.
Also, Sirius XM ended the third quarter with 18.92 million subscribers, up 17 percent from the end of the same period in 2007. During the third quarter, Sirius XM added 344,100 net subscribers.
"Sirius is growing significantly. Bigger radio companies are not growing as fast. And smaller radio companies are not growing as fast," Karmazin said. "Operationally, Sirius is performing well in a challenging environment."
On the debt refinancing side, Sirius is close to announcing a refinancing of $300 million in debt due in February 2009, Karmazin said. Also, the company is working on refinancing other debt items coming up next year.
During the conference call, Karmazin said the company is working through a reduction in workforce, eliminating duplicating positions that were created when Sirius and XM merged operations in July. He said the combined company will see a reduction of about 22 percent of its workforce.
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| 11 Nov 2008 - 09:27 by soullezz |
Industry News
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| DISH 3Q: Sub Loss, AT&T Impact, Drop in Net Income |
Given the 10,000 net customer loss recorded by DISH Network in the third quarter, those running the DBS platform said there's still a lot of work to do - and a lot to think about - in the coming months.
The subscriber loss, the second straight quarterly customer decline for the company, took DISH's customer count to 13.78 million. Also, the company said net income totaled $92 million in the third quarter, compared to $200 million for the corresponding period in 2007. The $108 million decline in net earnings was primarily related to impairments on marketable and non-marketable securities, the company said.
DISH CEO Charlie Ergen said the company faces a "fair amount of investment" to get installation and customer service functions up to speed. And the company has an eye on strengthening its operating metrics.
HD and DVR customers are still good bets. Yet, when considering any pushes for new customers, "You have to be willing to tread a little bit of water, based on the marketplace that's out there," Ergen said. "You have to be prudent in terms of where to spend money."
Other notes from DISH's third quarter results were references to the company's sales and marketing relationship with AT&T, a deal that's set to expire in January.
In a regulatory filing, DISH said AT&T has been a "substantial contributor" to gross and net subscriber additions, accounting for about 17 percent of gross subscriber additions during the first nine months of the year.
DISH said about 1 million of its current subscribers were acquired through the relationship with AT&T, and those subscribers have historically churned at a higher rate than the overall subscriber base. That could be challenging for DISH, given that the higher churn customers will likely stay with the DBS service after the AT&T split.
Also, Ergen touted the company's Turbo HD endeavor, saying the package "got us back into the HD game."
In addition, DISH said in the regulatory filing it repurchased 3.1 million shares of stock for $82 million during the third quarter. The company's board has authorized a plan to repurchase up to $1 billion of outstanding shares through December 2009.
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| 11 Nov 2008 - 09:26 by soullezz |
Industry News
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| Sirius XM Faces Shareholder Litigation |
Sirius XM is facing litigation in a California federal court filed on behalf of unhappy shareholders.
The so-called derivative suit was recently filed in U.S. District Court, Central District of California. The document alleges Sirius XM management of violations of federal RICO racketeering laws, breach of fiduciary duty and other laws, according to a statement from the lead plaintiff.
Also, the suit seeks to prevent Sirius XM management from pursuing a proposal that would allow the satellite radio company to conduct a reverse stock split of its shares. Also, "we are working to gain control of our company by seeking to remove current members of the board as well as top executive Mel Karmazin," said Michael Hartleib, the individual pursuing the litigation on behalf of the group called "Save Sirius."
In response, Patrick Reilly, senior vice president of communications at Sirius XM, said in a statement that the litigation "is the latest in a string of court filings by this plaintiff, all of which have been dismissed. We consider the latest filing baseless and will challenge it vigorously."
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| 5 Nov 2008 - 07:20 by soullezz |
Industry News
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| BSkyB, Virgin Media Settle Programming Spat |
British Sky Broadcasting, the U.K./Irish satellite TV company controlled by News Corp., said it reached an agreement with Virgin Media that allows the cable competitor to access its programming.
The agreement will place channels - such as Sky1, Sky2, Sky3, Sky News, Sky Sports News, Sky Arts 1, Sky Arts 2, Sky Real Lives and Sky Real Lives 2 - back on Virgin Media's programming lineup. A second agreement provides for the continued carriage of Virgin Media TV's basic channels - Living, Living 2, Bravo, Bravo 2, Trouble, Challenge and Virgin 1 - on Sky's retail lineup delivered via satellite.
The agreements, which run through June 2011, include fixed annual carriage fees for the channels and additional capped payments if the channels meet certain performance-related targets.
Also as part of the agreements, both Sky and Virgin Media agreed to terminate all legal proceedings tied to carriage of the programming.
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| 5 Nov 2008 - 07:19 by soullezz |
Industry News
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| Oldest Satellite Retired by Intelsat |
After 32 years of serving ships at sea and scientists at the South Pole, an aging communications satellite owned by Intelsat has been retired by the company.
The Marisat F2 satellite, manufactured by Hughes Aircraft and launched in 1976, had only a five-year design life. Still, the "Little Satellite That Could" remained in operation through this year, and is believed to have been the oldest commercial communications satellite still actively operating in space.
Engineers at Intelsat General, responsible for managing the orbit of the satellite, recently determined that its support sub-systems were nearing the end of operating life. To prevent Marisat F2 from drifting into the path of other satellites, Intelsat decommissioned the bird on Oct. 29.
The final assignment of Marisat F2 was providing internet service to research scientists stationed at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. Of the three satellites dedicated to serving the National Science Foundation's research operations at the pole, Marisat F2 had the second biggest bandwidth capacity for internet service and was available for use most hours everyday, the company said.
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| 4 Nov 2008 - 02:52 by soullezz |
Industry News
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| More Retailers Targeted by DISH |
DISH Network on Monday provided another list of retailers terminated by the company that it said are believed to have engaged in illegal activity, including fraud and misrepresentation, when establishing customer accounts for the DBS service.
They are: Digi Tech Solutions L.L.C. of Henderson, Nev., Mohammed Jabev (dba Starz Satellite) of Montgomery, Texas, Arsen Kazaryan (dba TV Connect) of Los Angeles, Calif., David Cativo (dba Houston Satellite) of Houston, Texas, Pro Tech Installation Serv LTD (dba Pro Tech Satell) of Lubbock, Texas, and Michael Nghiem (dba Techmedia Group) of Katy, Texas
The anti-fraud pushes were started by DISH in September.
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| 4 Nov 2008 - 02:52 by soullezz |
Industry News
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| DIRECTV Part of Verizon's New Marketing Push |
On Monday, Verizon took the wraps off a series of offers and promotions, including a pitch that includes DIRECTV.
The triple-play bundles unveiled by Verizon are meant to promote broadband services from the telco company. The packages include local and long-distance calling, internet access with download speeds as fast as 7.1 Mbps, and DIRECTV starting at $79.99 a month for a year. Double-play bundles feature a combination of home phone and high-speed internet or a pairing of home phone and DIRECTV starting at $49.99 a month for a year.
When compared with ordering stand-alone service for each, the new bundles can save consumers between $15 and $35 a month, depending on the bundle selected, Verizon said.
While DIRECTV is part of that promotion mix, Verizon on Monday also launched an effort tied to its fiber-based FiOS TV offering.
The telco said customers who sign up for FiOS TV by Dec. 31 will get free access for 90 days to three premium entertainment packages - Cinemax, HBO and FiOS TV's movie package - plus access to more than 9,000 free video-on-demand titles per month. In addition, Verizon said its Home Media DVR is available to new customers for $15.99 a month - the price of a standard FiOS TV DVR - for the first 90 days. The deal changes to $19.99 a month after the promotion period.
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| 4 Nov 2008 - 02:51 by soullezz |
Industry News
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