News Archive
ACA Takes on Retransmission Consent Issues & Before Hearing, NAB Presses Senate Panel on Retrans & Sea Launch Ready to Fly EchoStar's Next Bird -- Posted by soullezz
on Tuesday, January 31 2006
ACA Takes on Retransmission Consent Issues
The American Cable Association released research Monday that suggests broadcasters and big programmers use current regulations to impede competition and increase retransmission consent costs for small, independent cable operators and consumers.
Part of ACA's complaints centered on how federal rules allow broadcasters to demand cash payment or other economic considerations, such as forced carriage of affiliated programming for carriage of popular channels. At the same time, broadcasters rely on Federal Communications Commission rules to prevent cable operators from shopping for lower-cost alternatives, the association representing small and independent cable operators said.
That situation has led to abusive contracting practices resulting in higher cable costs and less programming choice, among other factors, ACA said. "These conditions would not exist in a free market environment. The results of this study should encourage a massive re-thinking of current retransmission consent laws and regulations," said Matt Polka, ACA president and CEO.
The research, conducted for the ACA by Arlen Communications, also suggested that in a "truly free market," broadcasters would pay small and medium-sized cable operators for carriage or charge much lower retransmission consent prices for delivery of their content. The study concluded that rather than demanding cash payments for carriage, broadcasters should be paying cable operators up to $4.16 per channel per month to retransmit their programming.
"The scale of large cable operators serving big urban and suburban markets gives them negotiating clout when they deal with the broadcast behemoths," said Gary Arlen, president of Arlen Communications. "Our study found that operators in smaller and rural markets have almost no leverage in their retransmission bargaining with broadcasters."
Before Hearing, NAB Presses Senate Panel on Retrans
Why all of the recent talk on retransmission consent?
It's expected to be a hot topic at today's Senate Commerce Committee hearing on video content. And the National Association of Broadcasters weighed in on the matter, recently sending a letter to Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) and Co-Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) about the matter.
The letter, signed by NAB President and CEO David Rehr, reminded the lawmakers that retransmission consent negotiations "are private, market-based discussions held between willing participants." He added that the system has evolved organically since Congress formulated retransmission consent and must-carry rules in the 1992 Cable Act.
"In establishing that framework, Congress wisely recognized that cable operators derive great value from broadcasters' signals," Rehr said. "Thus, retransmission consent negotiations remain an important mechanism by which local television stations receive the acknowledged value that this programming brings to multi-channel video programming distributors."
The hearing on video content will feature testimony from Ben Pyne with Disney/ESPN Networks Affiliated Sales and Marketing, Matt Polka of the American Cable Association, Robert Lee of WDBJ Television, Comcast's Joseph Waz, DirecTV's Dan Fawcett, and Doron Gorshein of the America Channel.
Sea Launch Ready to Fly EchoStar's Next Bird
Launch services provider Sea Launch said its Sea Odyssey Launch Platform and Sea Launch Commander have departed home port in Long Beach, Calif., for its first mission of the year, flying EchoStar's future satellite.
Sea Launch said it's preparing to launch the EchoStar X broadcast satellite on Feb. 8, at the opening of a 49-minute launch window, at 3:35 p.m. Pacific. The vessels are on their way to the launch site in international waters of the Pacific Ocean.
The EchoStar X satellite, built by Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems, is a high-power Ku-Band A2100-AX spacecraft that will enable DISH Network to deliver expanded TV services and channel offerings.
This is Sea Launch's second mission for EchoStar and first mission with a Lockheed Martin spacecraft, the company said.
as seen on skyreport
DISH Eyes a la Carte for Lifetime, Programmer Responds & Sirius Pushes for Terrestrial Repeater Rules & Dodging the Indecency Bullet -- Posted by soullezz
on Tuesday, January 24 2006
DISH Eyes a la Carte for Lifetime, Programmer Responds
EchoStar took another direction in its ongoing carriage battle with Lifetime Monday, telling the programmer it could put the flagship channel on DISH Network on an a la carte basis.
In a letter that Eric Sahl, senior vice president of programming for EchoStar, sent to Lifetime's Louise Henry Bryson, president of distribution and affiliate business, the satellite TV company offered to make Lifetime Network available on a stand alone - or a la carte - basis to DISH Network customers. Later in the day, EchoStar clarified that it is willing to provide the channel to customers who want to watch it at no additional charge to the customer, and that the net would then remain unavailable to customers who don't want it.
EchoStar also said it's willing to pay Lifetime the most recent rate proposed to the satellite TV service for the Lifetime a la carte channel.
Sahl also said in his letter that EchoStar stands ready to act immediately on the offer, restoring service if Lifetime accepts the deal.
In response, Lifetime said in a statement, "We stand by our position that Lifetime and Lifetime Movie Network, the No. 1 and No. 2 women's networks, should be available to all DISH subscribers without an extra cost. DISH has already announced they are increasing their rates by $2 to $3 per month on Feb. 1. Why should women pay even more for their favorite programs?"
EchoStar dropped Lifetime and Lifetime Movie Network from its DISH Network service on Dec. 31 after the two sides couldn't reach a new carriage agreement.
Sirius Pushes for Terrestrial Repeater Rules
Sirius approached the Federal Communications Commission with issues about competitor XM Satellite Radio and its plans to acquire WCS Wireless, and reiterated that the agency should finish its ongoing rulemaking concerning terrestrial repeaters supporting satellite radio services.
Sirius' specific concerns, outlined during a meeting company officials held last week with FCC staff, dealt with the co-location of WCS and DARS terrestrial transmitters, and whether those moves would create new interference problems. The nation's two satellite radio companies rely on terrestrial repeaters in cities to fill gaps of missing coverage.
The No. 2 satellite radio service said it will be unable to mitigate the potential WCS interference through the deployment of additional terrestrial transmitters until the FCC's DARS repeater rulemaking is completed "and provides satellite DARS licensees with additional flexibility." Also, Sirius suggested that the FCC defer consideration of the XM/WCS transaction until the terrestrial repeater rulemaking is completed.
Dodging the Indecency Bullet
Following last week's Senate hearings on program indecency, and after introducing family-friendly tiers of programming, cable and satellite TV may have bought some time to deal with the touchy policy issue. The services may have avoided - for now - an immediate legislative threat of new regulation such as multichannel indecency standards or a la carte, some suggest.
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens voiced a preference for trying a voluntary approach to TV indecency concerns, particularly given likely constitutional challenges that could tie up and overturn any legislative mandate. Blair Levin of Legg Mason said in a research note released late last week it appears Stevens will likely wait, perhaps a few months, before trying to move any indecency legislation.
That includes taking up a House-passed bill that aims to toughen penalties for broadcast indecency violations, Levin said.
However, "If the family tiers are not significantly accepted in the market - and two senators suggested they would not be until they include more sports programming - we wouldn't be surprised to see the issue and related legislative proposals resurface later this spring or summer," Levin said.
"What that would produce is unclear, given the likelihood of amendments," the analyst added. "But the prospect that the Senate would pass a bill that is substantially different than the House bill complicates enactment of any legislation this year."
Any provision specifically targeting cable and satellite TV could be controversial, and the constitutional issues that would be raised with such legislation could be an uphill fight, Levin said.
The bottom line, Levin said, was that the focus of the hearing "on balance was good news for cable and DBS."
as seen on skyreport
Ergen Takes on Programmers as DishFAMILY Debuts & Stevens Emphasizes Voluntary Approach to Indecency & Changes at SIA -- Posted by soullezz
on Friday, January 20 2006
Ergen Takes on Programmers as DishFAMILY Debuts
EchoStar revealed its family programming tier Thursday, which it branded DishFAMILY, and at the same time the company's CEO Charles Ergen testified before a Senate panel about family-oriented programming and issues tied to delivering more programming options to consumers.
Ergen, who spoke before the Senate Commerce Committee Thursday morning, said EchoStar's DISH Network service faces challenges from large programmers, particularly those with a big broadcast network, that use their leverage to bundle key channels - including broadcast stations - with other programming.
That practice forces "distributors to charge customers for channels they do not want," Ergen said. At the same time, those programmers are requiring pay-TV services to package family and adult-oriented programming in the same tier.
Ergen suggested that Congress take a look at the creation of a binding arbitration process to resolve programming carriage disputes involving broadcast stations, a move that possibly could - during a carriage negotiation - unbundle broadcast networks tied to other channels.
When working on the family package, EchoStar encountered resistance from some programmers unwilling to unbundle or relax penetration requirements in existing programming carriage contracts, Ergen said.
Also during the hearing, Ergen emphasized the parental controls available to DISH Network customers who want to lock out programming they don't want in their home.
The DishFAMILY package, available Feb. 1, will sell for $19.99 a month, or $24.99 a month with local channels. Some channel carriage deals are still being hammered out, but the DishFAMILY package will include channels such as Animal Planet, EWTN, Outdoor Channel, Fox News Channel, Boomerang, CNN Headline News, C-SPAN, Weather Channel, Nickelodeon, Discovery Kids, Do It Yourself Network and NickToons.
Stevens Emphasizes Voluntary Approach to Indecency
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens said voluntary options should be explored first when it comes to handling indecent content airing on television.
That's what the Alaska Republican, who said he was pleased with the TV industry response so far concerning content issues, stressed during a hearing on broadcast decency Thursday.
"Whatever we work out on a consensus basis is going to happen now and I think we ought to find a way to react as quickly as possible to the request of our family-friendly audiences to see if we can accomplish what was accomplished before with the movie industry when they worked out the ratings systems," the senator said.
Stevens said any hard mandate addressing indecency could end up in court, "and it would be years before anything takes place that would affect the demands of the American public and families for some change."
He added, "The First Amendment does impose some restrictions and constraints on what Congress can mandate."
Meanwhile, Brent Bozell of the Parents Television Council proposed three items to address indecency: Increased fines for broadcasters that violate indecency laws; content aired outside the so-called "safe harbor" period should be limited to cable; and consumers should be free to pick and choose - and pay for - only those cable networks they want to watch.
Changes at SIA
Tony Trujillo, senior vice president of corporate services and government relations for Intelsat, has stepped down as Satellite Industry Association chairman, the organization said in its weekly Director's Report.
Joslyn Read, assistant vice president for regulatory affairs at Hughes Network Systems, was installed as the new chairperson for 2006, the organization said. The board also elected Nancy Eskenazi, associate general counsel of SES Americom, as vice chair and Jennifer Manner, who is vice president of regulatory affairs for Mobile Satellite Ventures, as treasurer.
Also, David Cavossa was re-appointed executive director of the organization.
SIA supports the commercial satellite industry, as well as related businesses such as satellite manufacturers and launch services providers.
as seen on skyreport
WildBlue Takes in $200 Million Credit Facility & Sky Content via Mobile Phone, PC & French Pay-TV Deal a Step Closer -- Posted by soullezz
on Wednesday, January 11 2006
WildBlue Takes in $200 Million Credit Facility
Satellite broadband company WildBlue Communications said it closed a secured credit facility of more than $200 million to fund the continued growth of its high speed Internet access business.
The financing, WildBlue said, will support its growing business and will facilitate the launch of a second satellite, which is targeted for the fourth quarter. The lending group is led by Liberty Media, WildBlue's largest shareholder.
The National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative, also a major WildBlue shareholder, and TimesArrow, affiliated with one of WildBlue's founders, also participated in the facility. Terms of the credit facility were not disclosed.
"We are extremely pleased with the closing of this financing, which reiterates the commitment and confidence our shareholders have in this business, and reinvigorates our near-term expansion plans," said WildBlue CEO Dave Leonard. "This funding will help enable us to rapidly expand the availability of affordable broadband service to homes and offices that lie beyond the reach of other broadband Internet services."
Sky Content via Mobile Phone, PC
British Sky Broadcasting, the satellite TV platform controlled by News Corp., this week launched two services that will allow customers to obtain Sky content for computers and mobile phones.
With the services - Sky by Broadband and Sky by Mobile - users can download movies when they want or access highlights of Premier League soccer matches on their PC with Sky by Broadband. They can also get the latest news while on the move with Sky by Mobile.
Sky by Broadband and Sky by Mobile are available to millions of Sky digital viewers in the United Kingdom and Ireland as part of their existing subscription.
The services come in response to growing evidence of consumer desire to access media content in different ways. Broadband accounts for 57.4 percent of all U.K. Internet connections, and almost half (47 percent) of all Sky digital customers have broadband connected PCs, compared to a national average of 38 percent, the company said.
French Pay-TV Deal a Step Closer
The landmark pay-TV deal being hammered out in France took another step to fruition this week when the companies involved officially signed off on the deal.
Vivendi, TF1 and M6 signed an agreement, which seeks combine the pay-TV businesses in France of Group Canal Plus and TPS within a group controlled by Vivendi. TPS controls France's No. 2 satellite TV company while Canal Plus operates top dish service CanalSatellite.
Upon completion of the transaction, the new group would be owned 85 percent by Vivendi Universal, 9.9 percent by TF1 and 5.1 percent by M6. Vivendi said its investment could change depending on the outcome of discussions with Lagardere, though it would retain exclusive control of the new group.
Also, the agreement is subject to the approval of French competition authorities and will be referred to French Broadcasting Authority.
as seen on skyreport
Bill Gates gives 10th keynote at CES & Satellite Radio Steals Show at CES -- Posted by soullezz
on Wednesday, January 4 2006
Bill Gates gives 10th keynote at CES
LAS VEGAS, Nevada (AP) -- Rival Google Inc. may be nipping at its heels, but Microsoft Corp. wasn't flashing any defeatist signs as it showcased its latest plans to help make living in the digital world safer, easier and more fun.
In his 10th keynote to kick off the International Consumer Electronics Show, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates on Wednesday night highlighted the Windows Vista program, a major operating system upgrade set for release later this year.
He also discussed how Microsoft's Xbox game console and media-oriented software for PCs and electronics gadgets are aiming to help consumers connect more easily with each other, get more entertainment, and deliver more high-definition video.
"Consumers are getting more and more connected, and software is at the center of that," Gates said.
Gates' speech was just two days before Google hosts its first CES keynote, in a sign of the Internet giant's rising influence.
Rumors are swirling among analysts that Google may unveil a Google-based PC, or some kind of Google-based software that would compete directly with or at least indicate the increasing irrelevance of Windows desktop software, Microsoft's bread and butter.
In a memo to his top executives in November, Gates acknowledged that Microsoft should act quickly in offering Web-based services to best formidable competitors.
But in a phone interview preceding his address, Gates downplayed a Google threat.
"I hear they're coming out with a robot that will cook hamburgers, too. Let's spread that rumor -- there's nothing they can't do," Gates said in jest.
On a more serious note, Gates added: "Whatever they announce, they announce. They're in their honeymoon period, and anything they announce gets hype ... They will obviously branch out beyond Internet search, but I think the expectations won't live up to reality."
For now, Microsoft is cheered by its own progress in promoting digital entertainment and services, and bringing its platform to an increasing number of electronics devices.
Some examples: the brand new Windows-based Treo smartphone from Palm Inc.; the upcoming movie download service from Starz Entertainment Group that will allow users to view full-length films and TV shows on a crop of new Windows-based portable devices; and a growing slate of entertainment-oriented machines based on the Windows Media Center Edition. One of the PCs will be smaller than a shoebox and cost under $1,000.
Gates also announced a multiyear partnership with satellite TV provider DirecTV Group Inc. to get the company's satellite video directly onto Media Center-based devices.
Media Center-based PCs picked up a lot of traction in 2005, Gates said. Cumulative unit sales to date are 6.5 million worldwide, of which 5.5 million were logged last year, he said.
In addition, Intel Corp., which is promoting its so-called Viiv chip technologies aimed for multimedia machines for the networked, digital home, will require that Viiv customers base their products on Microsoft's Media Center Edition.
Meanwhile, demand for the Xbox 360, which debuted in late November, is exceeding the company's own expectations. Microsoft is on track to have shipped 4.5 million to 5.5 million units by the end of June, Gates said. Shortages experienced during the holidays were due to high demand and normal manufacturing complexities in building a new product, he said.
The Windows Vista operating system is also on its way, though a specific release date in 2006 has not yet been announced.
Gates discussed and demonstrated for the first time some of the new components of Vista during his keynote.
Vista will feature faster, improved searches for data, music, photos or video content. It will have an updated media player allowing users to more easily play digital content from any PC in the house. Vista will also integrate for the first time parental controls, specifying hours of use, or limiting, for instance, the kinds of video games a child can play, based on the industry rating.
Plus, Vista will add support for high-definition video via the burgeoning "CableCard" technology that lets users get digital cable simply by inserting an access card from their cable operators.
The year 2006 will be an exciting one for high-definition video, Gates said, as more content -- from films to video games -- will be produced in the higher-resolution format. The Xbox 360 will later this year have an external drive to play HD-DVDs -- one of the newest high-definition DVD formats.
as seen on CNN
Satellite Radio Steals Show at CES
Satellite radio took the spotlight during the first days of CES, taking place this week in Las Vegas:
*Delphi said it won a substantial portion of the satellite receiver business for Hyundai Motor America, company officials announced at CES. As part of the deal, Delphi will supply XM capable receivers for the Hyundai Santa Fe, Azera and Elantra. Hyundai is the first automaker to add standard satellite radio to its full vehicle lineup.
*XM and Samsung introduced a line of portable audio models that combine the content and capabilities of XM and a MP3 player. The converged solution delivers XM's 160 channels and the ability to store and play MP3 files.
*Eton Corporation, a design-driven leader in radio and portable audio products, announced a partnership with Sirius to bring its SiriusConnect home technology to the Eton and Porsche Design by Eton radio lines. Eton customers can access AM/FM, shortwave, and Sirius with its product.
as seen on skyreport
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