News Archive
Puerto Rico Entities Ask for SHVERA Reconsideration & FCC Gives Broadcasters Break on Retrans, Must-Carry & SIA on Hill for Emergency Communications Hearing -- Posted by soullezz
on Thursday, September 29 2005
Puerto Rico Entities Ask for SHVERA Reconsideration
Puerto Rico broadcasting entities asked the Federal Communications Commission to reconsider a rulemaking tied to its implementation of the Satellite Home Viewer Extension and Reauthorization Act (SHVERA) that excludes territories and possessions from the law.
The FCC, in an order detailing satellite delivery of analog and digital TV stations to viewers in non-contiguous states, concluded that the SHVERA provision applies only to Alaska and Hawaii and does not include territories and possessions such as Puerto Rico.
International Broadcasting Corporation, R y F Broadcasting, Encuentro Christian Network and Eastern Television Corporation jointly submitted the petition for reconsideration of the order at the FCC last week. In the filing, the companies argued that satellite TV services can be delivered - and are being delivered - to the Caribbean island.
"Even though it may not be technically feasible to provide service in certain territories and possessions, it is feasible in Puerto Rico where there is current DBS service," the companies said in the filing.
They added, "Because the commission treats Puerto Rico as a single market DMA for cable, multiple ownership and MVDDS rules, it cannot capriciously change that determination for application of the DBS rules."
The FCC order concerning non-contiguous states, handed down in August, was controversial for its mandating DBS carriage of multicast and high def signals for TV stations in Alaska and Hawaii.
FCC Gives Broadcasters Break on Retrans, Must-Carry
The Media Bureau and the Federal Communications Commission gave local broadcasters in the path of Hurricane Rita a break on items tied to retransmission consent and must-carry.
Television stations seeking cable or satellite TV carriage are required to elect between retransmission consent or must-carry status by Oct. 1, for their designated market area (DMA). Because of the impact of Hurricane Rita, the Media Bureau said there's good cause to extend this deadline until Nov. 15 for stations in the Alexandria, Lake Charles, and Lafayette, La., areas and in the Beaumont-Port Arthur, Texas DMA.
This extension does not affect the rights of stations who have already exercised their carriage elections or cable or satellite TV operators who have already entered into carriage agreements, the FCC said.
SIA on Hill for Emergency Communications Hearing
Satellite technology will be represented at today's Capitol Hill hearing on communications during a disaster and other emergencies.
Tony Trujillo, chairman of the Satellite Industry Association, will be testifying on behalf of the group before the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Telecom and the Internet. It's expected that Trujillo, who also is executive vice president and chief administrative officer for Intelsat, will testify that satellites are an important part of the nation's public safety communications systems, adding a crucial layer of redundancy to terrestrial networks.
In the hours, days, and weeks following the hurricanes that ravaged the Gulf Coast, satellite networks provided critical communications capabilities to emergency personnel and citizens, whether via satellite radio, satellite TV, fixed satellite broadband networks or mobile satellite telephony, SIA said.
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ACA Takes Aim at DBS in FCC Comments & Fritts Stresses Localism at Last Radio Show Gig & DirecTV Names New Marketing Head -- Posted by soullezz
on Friday, September 23 2005
ACA Takes Aim at DBS in FCC Comments
This week, the American Cable Association, representing small, independent cable companies, asked the Federal Communications Commission to eliminate certain "outdated regulations" in an effort to enhance competition in small markets.
In a filing sent to the FCC, the ACA cited research showing satellite TV has gained an advantage over cable in smaller markets. By contrast, in more urban markets, cable still holds a four to one customer advantage over the small dish competition, the organization said.
"With lightly regulated DBS recently surpassing cable delivery in rural markets, the FCC should remove all legacy regulations from small and medium-sized cable companies. These regulations serve only one purpose - to tilt the playing field further in favor of DBS," said Rob Shema, vice president and COO of ACA.
The small cable organization asked the FCC to give its members the ability to sell stand-alone, optional broadcast TV packages, similar to what satellite TV offers today. The ACA also asked for access to satellite-delivered broadcast signals. Because some rural cable systems cannot get good quality broadcast signals off-air, they should have the right to obtain non-discriminatory access to DBS delivered local TV signals, the group said.
ACA also asked for reform of retransmission consent rules to relieve the financial pressure broadcasters may be placing on smaller cable companies.
Fritts Stresses Localism at Last Radio Show Gig
Edward Fritts, the outgoing president and CEO of the National Association of Broadcasters, didn't use his last address at NAB's radio show in Philadelphia to slam satellite TV and cable, or even the satellite radio nemesis. Instead, Fritts on Thursday emphasized the importance of broadcast localism.
"You've probably heard me say that localism is what sets broadcasters apart from all of our competitors," Fritts told the audience. "That hasn't changed, even in a world of iPods, satellite radio, BlackBerries and cell phones. There is simply no substitute for the immediacy of local radio.
"Localism is our franchise and ours alone," he said.
During his speech, Fritts also hailed the NAB's accomplishments during his 23 years at the organization.
"When I was elected NAB president, then Senate Commerce Chairman Bob Packwood came to the NAB Convention in Las Vegas and announced from the podium - and I quote - 'NAB can't lobby its way out of a paper bag.' Through years of hard work, we have turned that perception around," he said.
DirecTV Names New Marketing Head
DirecTV named Paul Guyardo executive vice president and chief marketing officer.
Guyardo will report to John Suranyi, president of DirecTV sales and service, and will also work closely with David Hill, president of DirecTV Entertainment, on creative and brand marketing initiatives. Guyardo joins the company on Oct. 17.
Guyardo will be responsible for all aspects of DirecTV marketing including branding, customer acquisition and retention marketing, direct sales, research and analysis, creative services and public relations. He joins the company after working for Sears Holdings Corporation, where he served as Kmart's senior vice president and chief marketing officer.
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Spaceway Launch Set for October & Street Eyes Sirius Subscriber, Revenue Filing & Satellite Delivers Hurricane Relief Concert -- Posted by soullezz
on Monday, September 19 2005
Spaceway Launch Set for October
The launch of DirecTV's next satellite - Spaceway F2 - is set for Oct. 26.
The satellite will launch from Arianespace's Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana.
Spaceway F2, a Ka-Band spacecraft, is one of four satellites DirecTV is launching during a two-year period as part of an expansion of programming capacity that will enable the company to deliver local and national HD channels and other advanced programming services. Spaceway F1 launched in late April.
Street Eyes Sirius Subscriber, Revenue Filing
On Monday, Sirius sent to the Securities and Exchange Commission a filing that reiterated company guidance for 2005, including its goal to have 3 million subscribers at the end of the year.
But the filing also contained the satellite radio company's subscriber count as of Sept. 15, which numbered 2.076 million. That created some buzz on Wall Street.
Said Craig Moffett of Bernstein Research, "This is likely to be viewed negatively by the market, as it implies lower-than-expected net adds of 262,000 subscribers so far this quarter."
During trading Monday, Sirius shares fell nearly 5 percent to $6.70.
But not all is lost for the No. 2 satellite radio service, the Bernstein analyst said.
"We remain optimistic about full year subscriber adds. We believe that fourth quarter subscriber adds will be very strong, driven by share gains in the retail channel on the back of Howard Stern's expected arrival in January 2006, and the publicity and promotional activities that are likely to surround that event," Moffett said. "A seasonal fourth quarter uptick similar to last year's from third quarter to fourth quarter would allow Sirius to meet its guidance for 3 million end-of-year subscribers."
In addition to the subscriber count, Sirius said it expects to report year-end revenues of approximately $230 million, an increase from previous guidance of $225 million. The company also said it expects strong revenue growth in 2006 and generate positive free cash flow in 2007.
Satellite Delivers Hurricane Relief Concert
Satellite TV will deliver tonight's live pay-per-view broadcast benefit concert featuring some of the biggest names in music, including Bette Midler, Jimmy Buffett, Lenny Kravitz and Simon and Garfunkel.
"The Big Apple to the Big Easy," New York City's Concert for the Gulf Coast, takes place at Madison Square Garden. Proceeds from the special will go to support the long-term relief and rebuilding efforts in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.
The pay-per-view event is available for $19.95 from DirecTV and EchoStar's DISH Network. The show begins at 7 p.m. Eastern.
Also, XM said it's the exclusive live radio broadcaster of the "From the Big Apple to the Big Easy" concert. XM's coverage will broadcast live and nationwide on XM Live (channel 200).
as seen on skyreport
HNS Keeps Growing DIRECWAY & Canadians May Not Know Digital, But Services Continue Growth -- Posted by soullezz
on Wednesday, September 14 2005
HNS Keeps Growing DIRECWAY
Competition within the satellite broadband business is heating up, especially this week given Hughes Network Systems' announcement of new price points and speeds for its DIRECWAY service.
HNS said DIRECWAY residential plans now offer download speeds of 700 Kbps and upload speeds of 128 Kbps for $59 a month, and a package offering of 1 MB of download speed for an additional $10. Small business plans start at $99 a month and offer maximum speeds of up to two megabits per second, the company said.
The increased performance can be attributed to the DW7000 modem, which allows the company to deliver the faster speeds to customers and "do more things" with DIRECWAY's capacity, said Mike Cook, senior vice president of sales and marketing for HNS.
DIRECWAY reported more than 250,000 customers at the end of the second quarter, and Cook said the service is adding 10,000 gross customers each month. The service also has about 1,000 dealer/installers handling its product along with 8,000 installation professionals across the country, he said.
HNS has focused DIRECWAY on 13 million households, and 3.4 million businesses, that are believed to be without any access to wired broadband service. Cook said DIRECWAY also can be a solution for those wanting faster speeds than what's offered with certain "very basic" DSL services.
Cook also said HNS has been watching WildBlue's roll out. "They have not had much of an impact yet on the market," he said. "But we have always been the market leader (in the broadband business). And we intend to stay there."
Canadians May Not Know Digital, But Services Continue Growth
While many Canadians may not know about the benefits or features of digital satellite TV or digital cable, Ottawa-based Decima Research said digital TV subscriptions in the country are growing at a fast clip.
Decima said it expects half of all TV subscribers in Canada will have digital service by the middle of next year. The firm made that prediction despite data suggesting that almost two-thirds of analog TV subscribers are unaware of services available as part of digital TV.
"Specifically, 63 percent of analog TV subscribers recently surveyed said they 'don't know' or are 'not sure' what services, benefits, or features are available from a digital TV service," said Mario Mota, vice president of broadcast/media research at Decima. "Despite this, analog subscribers are migrating to digital TV in almost record numbers."
Decima predicted that the number of digital TV subscribers in Canada will surpass 5 million by the end of 2005, and hit 5.8 million by the end of 2006.
Also in its recent survey, Decima found that most Canadians (80 percent) are satisfied with their television service provider. Digital cable and satellite TV subscribers are generally more satisfied than analog and cable viewers, the company said.
And usage of video-on-demand continues to grow, with 28 percent of Canadian digital cable subscribers saying they ordered a VOD program within the last three months compared to 21 percent in 2004, Decima said.
as seen on skyreport
New Pansat v251 Firmware Kills Clones and Knock Off's!!! & On the Street: Sat Radio May Outperform Rest of Media Sector -- Posted by soullezz
on Monday, September 5 2005
New Pansat v251 Firmware Kills Clones and Knock Off's!!!
The new firmware flash released for Pansat 2500 models is specifically designed to "kill" (damage the processor, it will not even power up) clone and knock off receivers (cheap off brand versions). If you use the new firmware on a fake Pansat or cheaper brand Pansat look alike (such as Pantecs) it will seem to work for about 10 to 20 minutes, then the receiver will shut down and you will be unable to recover it from the damage. Without some considerable work, and expense!
This was done because thousands of receivers were sold under the Pansat label that were not, in fact Pansats. This type of business practice hurts the parent companies who develop new technologies. Not only were many off brand receivers sold as "Pansat compatible" but thousands of receivers were actually designed to look exactly like Pansats and sold with the Brand Name label but were in fact knock offs.
How to tell if your Pansat 2500 is real or a clone:
Authentic models have a UL & FCC clause directly printed onto the metal on the back of the receiver and should be accompanied by a small sticker indicating the month of the product manufacture e.g. Sep. 2004.
Correction Apparently some of the older pansats did have an FCC clauses sticker and not always printed on the metal.
If the UL & FCC clause is on a sticker and/or there is no manufacture date sticker, the "Pansat" you have is probably a knock off and the new firmware will damage the receiver, do not use it. In this case we suggest you contact directly the manufacturer from which your unit came, and ask for advisement on what to do!
Fortec has also released similiar firmware, that also is designed to lock up clones of there designs, and to stop Pansat users from using the same firmware releases.
Now, as many of you have already concluded from the firmware design, there is a war of products going on right now, and the casualties of the war will be the end users! This statement is very depressing, but is true. It wise if you have a clone of either product, that you do nothing at this time, but wait patiently. (or buy a Coolsat hehehe)
There are many sites out there now that are bickering and name calling over this. So dont get caught up in it, or involved! As always we here at DssCentral try to maintain an third party point of view. And we will remain this way, to help keep you, the end users as well informed as possible on this situation.
written by soullezz
On the Street: Sat Radio May Outperform Rest of Media Sector
Could satellite radio stocks outperform the rest of the media sector during the remaining months of 2005?
Jeff Wlodarczak of Wachovia Capital Markets said shares in Sirius and XM could do well for the remainder of the year if there's a strong selling season for the companies, and if they deliver better than expected results and other positive announcements.
In a note released Thursday, Wlodarczak raised his third quarter net subscriber addition forecast for XM to 710,000, well above Wall Street consensus of 655,000. The analyst said he expects better than expected additions for the company due to the GM Employee discount program, which could sell more XM-equipped vehicles to consumers, "and solid demand in general."
Wlodarczak said he expects the company to finish the year with 6.117 million customers.
As for Sirius, Wlodarczak raised his forecast for the company to end the year with 3.064 million subscribers, a projection that's inline with consensus but slightly above company guidance of 3 million.
Meanwhile, Tom Eagan of Oppenheimer and Co. sent out a separate note Thursday discussing plans by XM and Samsung to debut a MP3 Player that can receive the satellite radio service.
"This new device is important for XM as it more firmly positions its distribution at retail, an increasingly important source of subscribers as public awareness of satellite radio increases," Eagan said. "The device could also serve to get potential customers to subscribe to XM - instead of Sirius - following Sirius' recent announcement of its new MP3 device, the S50."
as seen on skyreport
DirecTV, FCC Assist Hurricane Relief Efforts & Sirius, CSR Make Promise on Canadian Programming -- Posted by soullezz
on Sunday, September 4 2005
DirecTV, FCC Assist Hurricane Relief Efforts
DirecTV plans to send technicians and satellite TV installers to several dozen shelters in the Gulf Coast region to hook up the facilities to its programming, an effort the company hopes will convey critical information to evacuees impacted by this week's devastating Hurricane Katrina.
DirecTV's Bob Marsocci said the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the American Red Cross gave the satellite TV company a list of shelters where the DBS service will be - or has been - installed. In addition, DirecTV had installation teams hook up the Astrodome in Houston to its service. The Astrodome is being used to house individuals who were evacuated from New Orleans.
Marsocci also said the company is attempting to establish a dedicated channel in cooperation with the Louisiana governor's office and FEMA that would deliver critical news and information to hurricane evacuees. As of press time, work was continuing on that channel.
Meanwhile, the International Bureau at the Federal Communications Commission announced procedures to help emergency communications services initiate, resume and maintain operations in areas impacted by Hurricane Katrina. The effort includes granting emergency requests for special temporary authority for satellite earth and space stations, the FCC said.
Sirius, CSR Make Promise on Canadian Programming
Sirius Canada and XM-backed Canadian Satellite Radio (CSR) said they will each commit to carry an equal number of French and English Canadian channels as part of their initial program offering north of the border.
Both companies are required to launch their service with a minimum of eight Canadian channels. Sirius and CSR said they will notify the Canadian Radio-Television Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) of the voluntary initiative to launch equal French and English programming options.
The move comes after reports surfaced that members of the Canadian Cabinet may ask the CRTC to re-visit its decision to license the two companies for service to the country.
John Bitove, chairman and CEO of CSR, said that the companies heard the message of the Quebec cultural community and responded because they "want to ensure that the CRTC decision remains firm and the services launch this year."
as seen on skyreport
Sirius Fights XM's WCS Proposal at FCC & NAB Readies Multicast Blitz -- Posted by soullezz
on Thursday, September 1 2005
Sirius Fights XM's WCS Proposal at FCC
Sirius urged the Wireless Bureau at the Federal Communications Commission to reject XM's proposed acquisition of WCS Wireless until the satellite radio competitor "remedies any risk of harmful interference" to its customers.
Sirius also said in its filing on the XM/WCS deal that the FCC should first conclude its terrestrial repeater rulemaking before moving on the proposal. The Sirius comments took aim at XM's application at the FCC to acquire WCS Wireless, which holds licenses for spectrum adjacent to frequencies where XM conducts its operations.
Sirius said XM's use of WCS spectrum "would deliver interfering signals that would incapacitate Sirius receivers in the near vicinity of XM's numerous collocated sites. Moreover, if the transfer is approved, it would permanently derail the terrestrial repeater negotiations by creating a situation where XM would have the incentive and ability to favor its combined business while simultaneously disadvantaging Sirius' satellite digital audio radio operations."
In addition, XM and WCS have failed to counter its showing of intermodulation interference, Sirius said.
There was no comment from XM concerning the Sirius filing. However, the company has consistently defended its WCS acquisition at the FCC and elsewhere.
NAB Readies Multicast Blitz
The National Association of Broadcasters and its president and CEO, Edward Fritts, said obtaining multicast must carry for cable is the organization's top priority when Congress returns from its August recess and begins work on digital TV transition legislation.
The effort will include advertising that will appear in Capitol Hill publications stressing the importance of multicast must carry, NAB said.
Fritts also challenged the cable business on the multicast issue and its refusal to carry the extra streams of content.
"Multicasting is about more competition to cable, and that's why the cable gatekeepers are fighting multicasting so fiercely," Fritts said. "Cable operators don't like competition. They like carving up exclusive territories, and providing programming in which only they own a financial stake."
NAB said a survey found that nearly 80 percent of TV stations are unlikely to create multicast local program streams without cable system carriage assurances. Fritts also said broadcast multicast carriage is "not a capacity burden" on cable.
as seen on skyreport
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