News Archive

NFL's First Stab at Flexible Schedule

-- Posted by soullezz
on Wednesday, October 25 2006

It's being billed as a way for teams to play their way onto prime time TV. The reality is that television coverage of the most successful professional sports league is big time money.
According to the NFL, two contests on Sunday, Nov. 12 will be the first attempt at the league's new flexible scheduling plans to get the best possible match-ups in front of the most viewers possible. The Chicago Bears vs. New York Giants game that day will be played at 8:15 p.m. ET on NBC and the New Orleans Saints vs. Pittsburgh Steelers game will move to 4:15 p.m. ET on FOX.

This season the NFL is implementing for the first time a "flexible scheduling" feature on Sundays in Weeks 10-15 and in Week 17. "Nov. 12 (Week 10) marks the first week of flexible scheduling, which will ensure quality matchups in all the NFL Sunday time slots and give teams a chance to play their way onto primetime and into the late-afternoon 4:15 p.m. ET time slot on CBS and FOX," the league said.

For each of the flexible scheduling weeks with the exception of Week 17, the NFL will announce the start times of games on Sundays no later than 12 days prior to that weekend. In Week 17, in order to guarantee a Sunday night/doubleheader game with playoff implications, the decision to move the start time may be made on six days notice.

Sea Launch Begins Countdown for XM-4

-- Posted by soullezz
on Wednesday, October 25 2006

At the same time that Sirius Satellite Radio launches its new internet radio product, the company's biggest competitor will be sending into orbit its newest satellite to enhance its own programming package. With the help of Sea Launch, XM Satellite Radio's fourth satellite - XM-4 - will soon join the company's other broadcasting units.
According to Sea Launch, the company has initiated a 72-hour countdown in preparations for the XM-4 launch scheduled for this Thursday, Oct. 26. Sea Launch said liftoff is planned for the beginning of a 58-minute launch window starting at 4:49 p.m. PT.

With launch site preparations underway at 154 degrees west longitude, the Sea Launch Commander is now stationed alongside the Odyssey, periodically connected by a "link bridge" during launch preparations. The company will set up the Zenit-3SL rocket on the launch pad today with final tests leading up to the terminal count for liftoff.

Sea Launch said the XM-4 satellite will have 18 kilowatts of total power at the beginning of life on orbit. Specified for a 15-year lifespan, the company's direct insertion into equatorial orbit is designed to yield additional years of service life. This will be Sea Launch's fourth launch operation for XM since March 2001.

NAB Calls for Satellite Radio Probe

-- Posted by soullezz
on Wednesday, October 25 2006

National Association of Broadcasters President and CEO David Rehr urged the Federal Communications Commission to open a full-scale investigation into the country's top satellite radio companies - Sirius and XM. In two letters addressed to commissioners this week, Rehr accused the satellite companies of openly defying the FCC's regulations and said that not censoring satellite radio's content just because it is a subscription-based service may not be justified anymore.

According to NAB, XM and Sirius recently requested authorization to operate terrestrial repeaters that were constructed and deployed inconsistent with the agency's rules. In a letter written to the FCC, Rehr called on commission members to "immediately commence a full investigation into both the actual and reported operations of Sirius and XM's terrestrial repeater networks."

The NAB president said the companies' latest disclosures "reveal a persistent corporate (if not industry) circumvention of the FCC's regulations."

In a second letter to the agency, Rehr questioned the "privileged regulatory position" enjoyed by satellite radio given "the expanding delivery of complimentary satellite radio services to nonsubscribers."

Noting a recent XM deal with Acura and Howard Stern's show being available for free on the internet, Rehr said "drawing a regulatory distinction between satellite and traditional broadcast radio simply because satellite radio content is available on a subscription basis may no longer be justified."

DVR Ratings Don't Hurt Nets

-- Posted by soullezz
on Wednesday, October 18 2006

The increasing penetration of DVRs is not negatively affecting the live ratings of major broadcast networks' prime-time programming. Instead, suggest some reports, the technology may be helping to attract larger audiences for the nets' most popular shows.
According to an analysis of the first week of DVR playback data distributed last week by Havas media firm MPG, live viewing to the four major nets has remained virtually unchanged compared to premiere week last year. In fact, MPG said, the impact of DVRs so far appears to be incremental by adding significant audiences to some shows. "But (DVR playback) does not appear to be affecting the level of live viewing overall," the group said.

In adult audiences 18- to 49-years-old, DVR playback contributed gains of 0.2 and 0.3 Nielsen rating points for all four major networks (although MPG did say the numbers may be influenced by Nielsen's sample becoming more representative of DVR homes).

The study seems to support the projections of network executives that have long said DVRs would push viewership of top-rated shows, not diminish it, by creating secondary sampling opportunities for shows that would normally suffer due to scheduling conflicts.

XM's Bob Edwards Wins Excellence Award

-- Posted by soullezz
on Wednesday, October 18 2006

The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) named XM Satellite Radio's "The Bob Edwards Show" as a recipient of this year's Deems Taylor Radio Broadcast Award for Overall Excellence in Music Coverage. The ASCAP award is one of three to be given to "The Bob Edwards Show" this year in recognition of "superior talk radio programming," XM said.
According to the company, Edwards' show was also awarded the Gabriel Award from the Catholic Academy for Communication Arts Professionals for his radio documentary on Father Greg Boyle of East Los Angeles. The piece centered on the community of activism of the priest who rehabilitated thousands of gang members into constructive members of society. Edwards is scheduled to receive the honor - his third Gabriel Award (the first given to a satellite radio program) - in Los Angeles this Friday, Oct. 20.

Edwards also received the Environmental Program Gold World Medal from The New York Festivals for another radio documentary "Exploding Heritage" focusing on mountain top removal coal mining in Eastern Kentucky.

"The Bob Edwards Show" airs on XM Public Radio (XM 133) weekday mornings and features in-depth interviews with newsmakers, journalists, entertainers and other figures. Edwards is scheduled to receive the ASCAP award at the 39th annual ASCAP Awards Ceremony on Dec. 7.

Live Broadcast TV for Maritime Market

-- Posted by soullezz
on Wednesday, October 18 2006

Global at-sea communications provider Sea Mobile is using one of its companies to help bring live TV to cruise ships everywhere. By selecting Envivio Inc. and iDirect Technologies, Sea Mobile's Maritime Telecommunications Network (MTN) will be the first company to launch live television broadcasts to cruise ships anywhere on the planet.

The Maritime Satellite Television Network (MSTV) service will use Envivio's encoding systems and iDirect's remote VSAT solution with MTN's global satellite network and onboard communications antennas for reliable TV broadcasts.

According to the company, MTN's live TV service to cruise ships is an example of IP video convergence in action as it combines access technologies from both Envivio and iDirect to enable next-generation service providers live video to seafaring vessels. The system, MTN said, is similar to the delivery of stationary TV services traditionally offered by cable and direct-to-the-home (DTH) providers.

Based in Miramar, Fla., MTN provides broadband connectivity and related services like voice, data, internet cafes and compressed video to the mobile maritime industry using VSAT technology.

Report: IPTV Subs Hit 50M in 2010

-- Posted by soullezz
on Sunday, October 15 2006

The steady growth of IPTV subscribers and services revenue continues to show strong upside potential in Europe and Asia with some exceptions in North America. A new study suggests the reason is that international growth is being driven by the large incumbent telcos, whereas in North America its the smaller, independent IPTV providers that are pushing the technology into homes.
MRG's IPTV Global Forecast Report projects that there will be 50.5 million IPTV subscribers by the end of 2010 with global IPTV revenue of $16.7 billion that year ($12.8 billion in service, $3.9 billion in system and software).

Deployments at incumbent carriers like France Telecom, Telefonica and PCCW in Hong Kong are now serving nearly 1.5 million IPTV subscribers and are forecast to experience significant growth in both the short and long term, MRG said. Likewise, competitive (non-incumbent) IPTV providers also are leading in innovation and subscriber growth in their markets.

"The one group of IPTV providers not sharing in the current success of IPTV is comprised of those that have selected Microsoft's software," said Bob Larribeau, IPTV director for MRG. "Deployments at AT&T, Bell Canada, Deutsche Telekom, and Swisscom are on hold waiting for Microsoft's software."

Microsoft's slowness to market has had a strong negative effect on the forecast for North America in particular, the report said, which has not been offset by the stronger growth of small independent operators and of Verizon's (IPTV-based) VOD services.

Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Vs. News Corp.

-- Posted by soullezz
on Wednesday, October 11 2006

A California Judge threw out a lawsuit surrounding News Corp.'s $580 million acquisition of Intermix - MySpace.com's parent company - ruling that shareholders were well-informed as to approve the company's buyout. Led by former Intermix CEO Brad Greenspan, the lawsuit alleged that shareholders did not realize the full extent of MySpace's potential value when they initially approved the deal.
Judge Carolyn B. Kuhl said in a ruling issued last week, "Apparently the shareholders decided that an acquisition price of $580 million for Intermix's equity stock was a fair price for a dot-com company with quarterly earnings of $1.2 million, even if net income was growing exponentially."

Greenspan alleged that company executives kept secret that MySpace (one of the biggest websites in existence) was outperforming other Intermix assets, or that its earnings had reportedly grown 900 percent year-over-year. The court, however, found that shareholders were aware of the site's success - enough, at least, to approve the deal.

"A company is not required to disclose all financial data needed to make an independent determination of value," Kuhl said. "Basic financial data, consisting of the company's audited financial statements, is sufficient."

Greenspan said on Monday that he planned to appeal the decision.

Arianespace Launch Set for Tomorrow

-- Posted by soullezz
on Wednesday, October 11 2006

For its fourth launch of the year, Arianespace will boost three satellites into orbit tomorrow night: DirecTV 9S for DirecTV, OPTUS D1 for the Australian operator OPTUS, and the experimental satellite LDREX-2 for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.

Scheduled for lift-off between 4:56 p.m. and 5:56 p.m. ET, the Thursday night event will be the 29th Ariane 5 launch.

According to the company, the seven-minute countdown comprises all final preparation steps for the launcher, the satellites and the launch site. If all proceeds as planned, the countdown will lead to the ignition of the main stage engine and the two boosters for a liftoff as early as possible in the satellites launch window.

Arianespace said the launcher will be carrying a total payload of 9,031 kg (including 7,804 kg for the three satellites) which will be released separately into their targeted orbits. The launch will be from the Ariane Launch Complex No. 3 (ELA 3) in Kourou, French Guia.

If an interruption in the countdown during the launch window occurs, the launch could be delayed by a few days depending on the problem involved and the solution developed, the company said.

EchoStar Win Leaves TiVo in Limbo

-- Posted by soullezz
on Thursday, October 5 2006

After a federal judge ruled in favor of EchoStar for a stay of injunction over TiVo's patent infringement lawsuit, TiVo is forced to watch in real time as the satellite company continues to operate its DVR business. TiVo, once with the law on its side, is now left to ponder how the technology it helped to pioneer will be distributed by its legal adversary.
It's still early to determine how it will affect TiVo in the long run, and Kaufman Bros.' Todd Mitchell said the decision removes any rationale supporting a long thesis for shares of the DVR company - at least until analysts have a more accurate view of its MSO offering.

With the stay in place - and TiVo not expected to appeal the decision - EchoStar can sell and service its DVRs until the court makes a final ruling. Mitchell said that process could take as long as 18 months and would give EchoStar ample time to engineer new DVR software that does not violate TiVo's patents. TiVo, on the other hand, is expected to spend heavily throughout the upcoming holiday season in an attempt to drive subscription growth and soften expected operating losses.

Mitchell said it is difficult to estimate the value of TiVo's MSO opportunities and wouldn't be surprised if other operators - in addition to Cox and Comcast - joined in offering the company's software download on its DVRs. But, the analyst said, it is unclear what the true economic contribution - not including advertising - these subs can generate.

And although TiVo's advertising platform is extremely effective, Mitchell said he does not believe that it, or the company's consumer offering will be all that unique for very long. "As alternatives become available, the question of reach will become important," he said. "Given the competitive challenges TiVo is facing, it may be difficult for TiVo to achieve sufficient scale to leverage its advertising platform."

Another XM Director Steps Down

-- Posted by soullezz
on Thursday, October 5 2006

On the heels of reports that XM Satellite Radio experienced a 54 percent decrease in gross additions during the third quarter over the same period last year, company management is left dealing with another board member jumping ship. Yesterday, George Haywood announced that, effective immediately, he was resigning from the company's Board of Directors.
Although Haywood said he supports the company's direction and management, "personal reasons" were forcing him to step down from his position on the board.

Bernstein Research's Craig Moffet said that although the split between the director and XM appears to be amicable, "the timing - coming without the nomination of a replacement - is once again problematic." The company was notified by the NASDAQ that Haywood's resignation makes XM's board composition out of compliance with the stock market's rules. XM said it expects to have a replacement before it's next annual meeting.

Haywood's departure is the second such resignation the company has experienced this year. In February, then-director Pierce J. Roberts submitted his resignation due to disagreements with XM and other board members with regards to the company's direction - specifically its strategic balance of growth versus cash flow.