News Archive
BBQ RULES -- Posted by soullezz
on Wednesday, May 30 2007
We are about to enter the summer and BBQ season. Therefore it is important to refresh your memory on the etiquette of this sublime outdoor cooking activity, as it's the only type of cooking a 'real' man will do, mainly because there is an element of danger involved.
When a man volunteers to do the BBQ the following chain of events are put into motion:
Routine...
(1) The woman buys the food.
(2) The woman makes the salad, prepares the vegetables, and makes dessert.
(3) The woman prepares the meat for cooking, places it on a tray along with the necessary cooking utensils and sauces, and takes it to the man who is lounging beside the grill - beer in hand.
Here comes the important part:
(4) THE MAN PLACES THE MEAT ON THE GRILL.
More routine....
(5) The woman goes inside to organize the plates and cutlery.
(6) The woman comes out to tell the man that the meat is burning. He thanks her and asks if she will bring another beer while he deals with the situation.
Important again:
(7) THE MAN TAKES THE MEAT OFF THE GRILL AND HANDS IT TO THE WOMAN.
More routine....
(8) The woman prepares the plates, salad, bread, utensils, napkins, sauces, and brings them to the table.
(9) After eating, the woman clears the table and does the dishes.
And most important of all:
(10) Everyone PRAISES the MAN and THANKS HIM for his cooking efforts.
(11) The man asks the woman how she enjoyed 'her night off.' And, upon seeing her annoyed reaction, concludes that there's just no pleasing some women....
U.K. Gov't Investigates BSkyB -- Posted by soullezz
on Saturday, May 26 2007
British government officials instructed the country's competition watchdog Thursday to launch a full-scale investigation into British Sky Broadcasting's recent purchase of a significant stake in commercial broadcaster ITV. The order is making international waves because the investigation is seen as the first major test of the influence held over the British media by the pay-TV giant.
U.K. competition and media watchdog groups have said that a full probe into the transaction was necessary after the government called for preliminary reports to determine whether the deal would negatively impact the public's interest. "On the basis of the evidence before me, a fuller investigation by the Competition Commission is justified," Trade Secretary Alistair Darling said.
BSkyB, currently 39 percent owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., spent $1.8 billion in November for a nearly-18 percent stake in ITV. Industry observers recognized the move as News' attempt to keep its pay-TV rival NTL (Virgin Media) from acquiring ITV on its own. NTL is now Virgin Media after merging with Virgin Mobile.
The British anti-trust Competition Commission will examine the impact of the deal on competition and will look at how public interest issues relate to the concentration of media ownership. The Office of Fair Trading recently said that it believed BSkyB's ownership share could result in "a substantial lessening of competition" where both Sky and ITV operate business.
Satellite Radio Merger Stirring Debate -- Posted by soullezz
on Saturday, May 26 2007
A day after the antitrust subcommittee chairman blasted the proposed merger between Sirius and XM, while at the same time Latino community leaders were praising it, debate over the $13 billion deal seemed to reach new levels this week. Adding to the fervor surrounding the hot-button issue was Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin admitting to shareholders that the likelihood of regulators approving the deal seem very, well, unlikely.
The latest verbal exchange hitting industry reports this week started on Wednesday when Senate Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights Chairman Herb Kohl (D-WI), concluded that satellite radio was its own market and a merger to consolidate the industry's two major players would leave said market void of a competitive alternative. The Wisconsin Democrat urged regulators to take "all necessary actions to deny approval of this merger and prevent the creation of this satellite radio monopoly."
It seems Kohl's comments may have been the proverbial straw on Karmazin's back, as the executive told investors yesterday that the proposed merger between Sirius and its rival XM is a major "uphill battle." Despite the turn in outlook, Karmazin maintained that the merger deserves to be approved by government regulators even though Wall Street estimates an "80 percent likelihood that the merger is not going to happen."
Responding to Kohl's comments, Karmazin said, "There are some people out there that think that any combination is bad. The NAB is a very powerful... very well-oiled lobbying organization." The exec added that many members of Congress "have unique relationships with their local radio station (because) Congressmen and Senators in every market of the country (have) a local radio station that covers their speeches."
Meanwhile, the merger got some unexpected support this week when the board of directors of The Latino Coalition (TLC) went public with their endorsement of the deal, saying the merger is beneficial to the satellite radio industry. TLC President Robert de Posada said traditional radio companies have ignored the Latino market for "far too long" and that "Hispanics must turn to alternative sources like satellite radio for Spanish-language news, sports, music and diverse cultural programming." The coalition said eliminating duplicate programming and expanding channel capacity will provide new opportunities for Hispanics.
Reports have said that as of the end of March, XM and Sirius had spent a combined $13 million on the merger. But if the deal fails to be approved, Karmazin said Sirius' business model is still on track and the nation's second largest satellite radio provider "will be a very successful, profitable company down the road."
In related XM news, the satcaster said it would provide refunds to subscribers who were affected by its service outage earlier this week. The company said customers who request a refund will receive a credit for two days of service on a future bill.
DIRECTV Sues Comcast Over HDTV Campaign -- Posted by soullezz
on Tuesday, May 22 2007
A couple weeks back, Comcast said it had conducted a survey that found satellite subscribers actually prefer the cable company's high-def product more than what gets delivered via their satellite dishes. In response, DIRECTV has filed a lawsuit charging the cable operator with false advertising and deceptive trade practices.
Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, the suit seeks to have Comcast stop "engaging in any further false advertising and promotion," and that the nation's largest cable company retract the "misleading" claims of the campaign. The DIRECTV lawsuit also is seeking payment for unspecified damages to the satellite company.
The dispute stems from a Comcast-commissioned survey that claims in side-by-side comparisons, two-thirds of satellite customers asked to chose between the cable company and either DIRECTV or DISH picked Comcast as having the better HD image. The cableco said more than 65 percent ranked Comcast higher than DIRECTV and almost 70 percent higher than DISH.
The DIRECTV lawsuit cites Comcast's subsequent advertisement campaign that says "Comcast has won (the HD Picture Challenge) fair and square," and that "satellite customers agree: HD looks better with Comcast."
According to the lawsuit, "the survey upon which Comcast relies does not provide or sufficiently substantiate the propositions for which Comcast cites the survey. Comcast's promotional claims... are literally false." When asked for comment, DIRECTV spokesman Robert Mercer told SkyREPORT that the company's lawsuit "speaks for itself."
Something Awry With XM-3 -- Posted by soullezz
on Tuesday, May 22 2007
XM Satellite Radio's XM-3 satellite experienced some type of in-orbit difficulty Monday that caused service outages for an unknown amount of customers. In order for the problem to be fixed, XM had to perform a software upgrade on the satellite, which required the unit to be re-oriented to be corrected.
According to Wedbush Morgan's William Kidd, who confirmed the problem with XM, the process of re-orienting the satellite required it to stop broadcasting. The analyst said listeners may have been without service for at least a couple hours, and that the company's call centers are believed to have been "overloaded" with inquiries.
Kidd said XM-3 is an east coast-centric satellite that also serves the company's repeater network. Because of this, he said, "the absence of XM-3's signal is causing many of XM's subscribers to be without service.
The Wedbush Morgan statement issued by Kidd said XM believes the issue is resolved and that the satellite should be broadcasting again soon. The analyst said that until XM-3 is back up and running, "there exists a very low probability of a very large problem."
As of press time, XM had failed to issue a statement on its website about the problem and did not return SkyREPORT's attempts at obtaining comment.
Telesat Canada to Operate SAR Satellite -- Posted by soullezz
on Monday, May 21 2007
Telesat Canada reached an agreement with information solutions provider MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates (MDA) to operate MDA's Radarsat-2 for the lifetime of the satellite. The deal marks the first low earth orbit (LEO) satellite and the first non-communications satellite placed under the company's control.
Telesat said it would provide pre-operational and satellite operation services for MDA's Radarsat-2, which will be positioned in a sun-synchronous polar orbit. Radarsat-2 is an advanced commercial C-band SAR (synthetic aperture radar) satellite designed for enhanced sat performance and imaging flexibility.
The Radarsat-2 program is a continuation of the original Radarsat initiative to assist the development of Canada's Earth observation business sector. The satellite will be capable of image resolution ranging from three to 100 meters, the company said. Radarsat-2 will also be the first commercial radar satellite to offer multi-polarization capability that will help in identifying surface features and objects, MDA said.
BSkyB, Virgin Fail to Resolve Conflict -- Posted by soullezz
on Monday, May 21 2007
It appears there is no resolution in sight for the dispute between British satellite broadcaster BSkyB and cable operator Virgin Media. On Friday, BSkyB officials said Virgin rejected a compromise offer that would have restored Sky's basic channels to millions of Virgin subscribers.
But Virgin officials don't even agree with that, issuing a statement immediately that said it never rejected any negotiations and the cable company has always been receptive to any realistic offers from the satcaster. In the statement, Virgin brass also said the company is fully prepared to end the dispute.
In an earlier statement, BSkyB said CEO James Murdoch wrote a letter to Virgin Media's chief executive Steve Burch suggesting the two sides split the difference between each side's "last offer," but Virgin rejected that proposal as well. BSkyB said on Friday it saw little prospect of Virgin agreeing to restore Sky basic channels to its network, at least for the foreseeable future.
Virgin responded by reiterating it had not rejected any negotiations. In fact, the company said, it has made it clear to Sky officials that it has always been open to any realistic offers from Sky. Virgin also said its sub base has seen a fall in the first quarter and warned the dispute could further the decline.
In his response to Murdoch, Virgin's Burch said he would welcome an opportunity to have open discussions and the cable operator remains prepared to negotiate an agreement. But, he added, the latest offer from Sky does not promote "good faith discussions."
Survey: Consumers Want GPS, Not Mobile TV -- Posted by soullezz
on Monday, May 21 2007
Mobile television is getting a lackluster reception among consumers, while more mobile users are saying they would rather be hooked up with GPS. That's according to a new Canalys' consumer study that found nearly half of European mobile customers had no interest in mobile TV services, regardless of content or cost.
The consumer study said 62 percent of mobile users indicated that built-in satellite navigation would be more of a useful addition to their mobile devices.
"Consumers are much more excited by the prospect of having GPS on the handset than mobile TV," said Pete Cunningham, Canalys senior analyst. "It shouldn't come as a great surprise that mobile propositions with location or communication at their core resonate the strongest with consumers."
Conversely, the consumer survey did find that the other half of respondents said they would be interested in the TV-to-go technology - as long as there was a diverse range of content available. The report said of those interested in mobile TV, 29 percent would watch live sports or reality shows over other programming.
The results stand in contrast to recent Screen Digest research that predicted mobile TV would outpace rival mobile services in terms of revenue generation. That report claimed mobile TV is poised to generate $6.35 billion by 2011, despite its limited availability.
MSV, ILS Team for Next-Gen Satellite -- Posted by soullezz
on Wednesday, May 16 2007
Mobile satellite service provider Mobile Satellite Ventures (MSV) and its Canadian arm has contracted with International Launch Services (ILS) for the 2009 launch of one of two high-powered, next-generation satellites. The new units are designed to provide seamless broadband wireless coverage of North and Central America to consumer electronic devices.
The ILS agreement is for a single firm launch which includes an option for the second, the company said.
According to MSV, ILS will use a Russian-built Proton/Breeze M vehicle to launch the spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The MSV satellites, under construction by Boeing, will operate in geostationary orbit from 101 degrees and 107.3 degrees west.
The satellites feature 22-meter diameter, elliptical mesh reflectors that will support L-band communication with conventional handsets through a network-based on the company's patented ancillary terrestrial component technology, MSV said.
Satellite Tops Customer Satisfaction Survey -- Posted by soullezz
on Wednesday, May 16 2007
EchoStar and DIRECTV both issued statements Tuesday saying their respective services received the best customer satisfaction ratings from the latest survey of pay-TV subscribers. Funny thing is that they're both right.
According to the 2007 American Customer Satisfaction Index, EchoStar and DIRECTV topped the list of cable and satellite TV companies in terms of customer satisfaction. Both satellite companies scored a 67 on the test, but neither announced that they tied one another in their public statements.
EchoStar officials said the 2007 ACSI results mark the third time in four years that the company's DISH Network has scored a No.1 ranking - a testament to the investments DISH made in customer care and service. DIRECTV brass said no other cable or satellite provider has a higher customer satisfaction rating and that the company has initiatives in place to further distance itself from the competition.
While it is true that the satellite companies achieved greater satisfaction scores then their cable competition, the results should be taken with a grain of salt. According to ACSI, the "perennially low-scoring cable and satellite TV industry" has "the lowest level of customer satisfaction among all industries covered." The sector, which dropped two percent from 2006, averaged a score of 62. And as far as satellite is concerned, although both competitors tied at 67, EchoStar scored 68 last year (a year-over-year decline of 1.5 percent), and DIRECTV scored 71 in 2006 (a year-over-year decline of 5.6 percent).
Cable company results: Cox (63) remained the same from its last year score; Time Warner Cable (58) dropped 4.9 percent from 2006; and Comcast (56) plummeted 6.7 percent from the previous year. Other industries of note: The fixed-line telcos averaged 70 points; wireless carriers averaged 68; and cell phone makers averaged 71.
Satellite Sector Reports Quarterly Results -- Posted by soullezz
on Saturday, May 12 2007
Several satellite companies reported financial results for the period ending March 31 this week. Here is a quick wrap-up from the satellite sector's quarterly performance:
HUGHES COMMUNICATIONS reported first quarter revenues increased 13 percent year-over-year to tally a record $223 million. The company's Hughes Network Systems division increased its EBITDA 54 percent to $25 million with an adjusted EBITDA increase of 48 percent to $26 million. Hughes also said its order bookings is surging with a whopping 84 percent increase to $277 million.
Company President and CEO Pradman Kaul said the major contributors to Hughes' revenue growth were the consumer/SMB and mobile satellite businesses. The company said more than 41,000 new subscribers were activated during the first three months of 2007, growing its sub base by 19 percent to 346,000.
WORLDSPACE SATELLITE RADIO ended its first quarter of 2007 with 191,646 subscribers worldwide, a net loss of 7,459 from the close of Q406. The company attributed the loss to low net adds in India and the expiration of its educational service contract in Kenya which made up for 13,000 subs.
Financially, WorldSpace recorded a net loss for during the period of $35.5 million, or 91 cents per share, compared to its net loss of $29.2 million during Q106. Subscriber Acquisition Costs for the company reached $33 during the period "both on a blended basis and in India, compared to $23 and $32 on a blended basis and in India, respectively."
EUTELSAT COMMUNICATIONS reported revenues for its third quarter hit 205.7 million euros, up 5.4 percent year-over-year. With specific regard to services, the company said video application revenues increased 12.7 percent from 132.1 million euros to 148.8 million. Multi-usage and data/value added revenues slipped during the period to 15.1 million euros and 39.2 million, respectively.
The company said taking into account the strength of its operating performance for the first nine months of the year, Eutelsat is raising its revenue objective for 2006-2007 to above 815 million euros, compared to the initially disclosed objective of above 800 million euros. The company is also raising to 78 percent its EBITDA margin objective which was initially set at 77 percent for the fiscal year ending June 30.
IRIDIUM SATELLITE said it has 183,000 subscribers worldwide as of March 31, 2007, a 23.6 percent increase over the company's 148,000 subscribers at the end of the first quarter 2006. The company had first quarter revenue of $52.7 million and EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization) of $13.6 million. Iridium had revenue of $212.4 million and EBITDA of $53.8 million for the full-year 2006.
CEO Matt Desch said the company is off to a great start on the year, with first quarter numbers putting Iridium on pace to exceed its revenue and EBITDA targets for the year. The exec said Iridium is in a "comfortable position to both self-fund and attract capital for the development of our next-generation constellation Iridium NEXT." Initially revealed at SATELLITE 2007, Iridium NEXT will be an IP-based broadband network for the latest satellite and wireless technologies.
INTEGRAL SYSTEMS reported its second quarter fiscal revenues were $29 million, down $3.1 million year-over-year; operating income was $3 million compared to $5.2 million for the second quarter last fiscal year, while net income was $2.1 million - or 19 cents per share - compared to $3.5 million (32 cents per share) for the second quarter of fiscal 2006.
The company attributed its decrease in revenue, operating income and net income to lessened shipments in the space communications systems segment, increased bid and proposal costs, and legal costs associated with an investigation by the SEC. Officials said despite the downturn in quarterly results, the company's bookings continue to be strong with $38 million in new business already booked for the period.
DISH Wows Street with 1Q Results -- Posted by soullezz
on Saturday, May 12 2007
EchoStar surprised Wall Street with first quarter subscriber net additions of 310,000 for its DISH Network service, taking the company's overall total to 13.415 million.
While some in the financial community expected the satcaster to pull back on customer enrollments, EchoStar had a number of things going its way during the three-month period. For starters, CEO Charlie Ergen attributed strong seasonal customer gains to its HDTV services, especially high def Super Bowl coverage in February that provided a nice bump in quarterly customer additions.
Also, Ergen said a strong distribution base with solid satellite professionals in the field helped the company in the first quarter. And steady customer additions from telco partners like AT&T and others contributed to the subscriber count. Ergen added that AT&T and other telco companies selling DISH are becoming more of a "material part of our business" and he expects that side of the business to grow.
In other developments, there wasn't much talk about future satellite launches and an expansion of HDTV during the conference call with analysts Thursday. News recently surfaced that the company is preparing for the launch of two satellites by the end of the year. (In EchoStar's 10-Q filing, the company disclosed it has a 15-year lease on capacity aboard Telesat's Anik F3 satellite, which launched last month.)
EchoStar reported first quarter revenue of $2.64 billion, a 15 percent increase compared with $2.3 billion for the same quarter last year. Net income for the three-month period totaled $157 million, up from the $147 million recorded during the corresponding period in 2006.
DISH Launches Cinemax HD, More RSNs -- Posted by soullezz
on Monday, May 7 2007
EchoStar Communications launched the high-def feed of Cinemax on its DISH Network late last week bringing the satellite TV provider's total national HD lineup to 32 channels. According to the company, the addition of Cinemax HD keeps DISH Network in the lead for the most national HDs offered in the pay-TV industry.
DISH said subscribers to Cinemax HD will be able to view the upcoming summer lineup of movies including the "See it Saturday" titles of X-Men: The Last Stand, Superman Returns, Lady in the Water, Miami Vice and The Departed. The company also said Cinemax has 98 percent of its primetime programming schedule in true HD this year, including the award-winning original documentary series Cinemax Reel Life.
Cinemax HD can be found on DISH Network channel 9458 and is available to customers who subscriber to the DISHHD package - a $20 add-on to digital programming packages. Cinemax HD will mirror programming from the primary Cinemax channel, DISH said.
In other DISH news, the satellite company launched two more regional sports networks (RSN) in high def as well. The two new RSNs - Fox's Sun Sports (DISH channel 372) and SportSouth (DISH channel 381) - bring the company's total lineup of HD RSNs to nine.
DISH also added German Kino Plus to its channel lineup - a new German language channel offering movies, TV series and documentaries. The new channel can be purchased a la carte for $14.99 per month or combined with DISH's existing German language package - which includes Prosiebensat. 1 Welt, DW-TV and EuroNews - for $24.99 per month.
FCC OKs DBS Reverse Band -- Posted by soullezz
on Monday, May 7 2007
On Friday, the Federal Communications Commission adopted service rules for the so-called DBS reverse band, a new set of spectrum resources that would allow for an expansion of satellite TV capacity.
Specifically, the spectrum, also known as the 17/24 GHz BSS Band, will allow for the delivery of high-def and standard definition video, some data and video-on-demand and interactive content. In most cases, the spectrum will allow companies to complement their existing DBS services.
As part of its effort, the FCC adopted a first-come, first-served licensing procedure for the reverse band as well as other licensee obligations, such as geographic service rules that require licensees to provide service to Alaska and Hawaii. Also, the FCC established limits for uplink and downlink power levels to minimize the possibility of harmful interference.
In addition, the commission initiated further notice of proposed rulemaking to address technical issues related to potential interference.
In its order, the FCC identified four companies with license applications before the commission for use of the reverse band: DIRECTV, EchoStar, Pegasus and Intelsat North America. The agency also said it will attempt to accommodate other qualified applicants.
XM Dropped from Zipcar -- Posted by soullezz
on Monday, May 7 2007
Cambridge, Mass.-based Zipcar, a company that allows members to rent cars by the hour, said its members will soon have to get used to driving without XM Satellite Radio. The car-sharing service said it will be removing XM Satellite Radio receivers from all of its vehicles within the next few months.
According to local reports, Zipcar officials sent out an email to its members saying it was planning to part ways with XM as it seeks to find regulatory approval of its $13 billion proposed merger with Sirius. The company said it is breaking ties with the satcaster "while things get sorted out in the satellite radio industry."
Zipcar VP of sales and marketing operations Matt Malloy told the Boston Herald that the removal of XM receivers from its cars is a "natural evolution" after the company's two-year contract with the satellite radio provider expired. The exec said the actual merger had nothing to do with the decision.
According to Malloy, Zipcar has a fleet of 2,500 cars and more than 90,000 members. The company has car-sharing services in cities like Chicago, Vancouver and London, he said.
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