News Archive
SBCA Pushes Ahead with New Mission & Analyst: 44 Million Sat Radio Market in 5 Years -- Posted by soullezz
on Tuesday, June 28 2005
SBCA Pushes Ahead with New Mission
The board for the Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association conducted a conference call earlier this week, and affirmed what it had agreed to months ago: Taking the organization away from national policy efforts and placing its emphasis on education and training.
This week's board moves aren't necessarily new developments, given that the board approved the change of direction in April. However, SBCA veteran Alex Breckon was named interim executive director at the association, a position he will hold through at least September.
Under the new direction, SBCA will promote its National Standards and Testing Program (NSTP). NSTP has been with SBCA since 2001, and has trained more than 45,000 technicians for residential and commercial installs.
Also under its new mission, SBCA will tackle issues related to state taxes and other matters. And the organization will handle effective competition reports.
Analyst: 44 Million Sat Radio Market in 5 Years
How big is the satellite radio potential?
Craig Moffett of Bernstein Research released numbers Tuesday that suggests the satellite radio market may grow from 5.2 million subscribers at the end of first quarter 2005 to 44 million by the end of 2010. He said the forecast is significantly higher than consensus.
How will the satellite radio companies - Sirius and XM - get to that 2010 subscriber figure?
The business' primary target market is 230 million registered cars on the road. And Moffett forecasted that satellite radio could achieve 13 percent penetration of that car market by 2010, or 34 million subscribers.
"How quickly the industry penetrates the car market depends in large part on the willingness of OEMs (original equipment manufactures - or in this case car makers) to offer and promote satellite radio as a factory-installed option," Moffett said. "By 2010, we expect satellite radio to be available as an option on all makes and models, and to be standard equipment in all premium models."
On Tuesday, Moffett initiated coverage of Sirius with an "outperform" rating and XM with a "market perform" rating.
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NAB: If Locals Available, No Distant Nets & Adelphia Files New Reorganization Plan & XM Has Live 8 Coverage -- Posted by soullezz
on Sunday, June 26 2005
NAB: If Locals Available, No Distant Nets
While the National Association of Broadcasters didn't come out completely against distant network signals delivered by satellite TV, the organization said in comments sent to the Federal Communications Commission last week that use of distant network signals should be a last resort.
NAB's comments were part of the FCC's look into distant network signals, including digital distant networks, which were authorized in the Satellite Home Viewer Extension and Reauthorization Act (SHVERA). Once the FCC rules are in place, satellite TV services would be allowed to offer customers digital distant network feeds, with restrictions.
NAB said the FCC should stick with a "if local, no distant" principle in determining eligibility for distant network signals. "Because local-to-local service is the desirable way to deliver network affiliates to satellite subscribers, and because distant network station signals are at best a necessary evil, the SHVERA pushes the DBS industry towards the former and away from the latter," the broadcast association said.
Part of the FCC inquiry scrutinizes the extent in which satellite TV companies will be allowed to deliver digital HD signals from large cities - such as New York City or Los Angeles - to smaller markets. NAB said in its comments the FCC should promise that a DBS company cannot "use the distant digital compulsory license as an inexpensive, large-scale substitute for digital local-into-local."
Adelphia Files New Reorganization Plan
Adelphia said it filed a second amended plan of reorganization with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.
The cable company said the filing will push it toward resolution of its bankruptcy case. A disclosure hearing is expected later this summer, followed by creditor balloting, and a confirmation hearing to approve a final plan of reorganization, Adelphia said.
Adelphia also said the filing sets the stage for the next round of negotiations regarding its plan of reorganization. "It is expected that there will be significant negotiations regarding the terms of the proposed plan of reorganization and disclosure statement as the constituents work through a number of inter-creditor issues," the company said.
Comcast and Time Warner Cable are in a joint deal to buy Adelphia's assets, a deal that's before regulators, including the Federal Communications Commission.
XM Has Live 8 Coverage
XM Satellite Radio said it will broadcast global performances from Live 8, the concert series put together by Bob Geldof to bring attention to third world issues. On July 2, XM will carry Live 8 concerts from London, Paris, Berlin, Rome and Philadelphia, with XM personalities covering performances live on location, the company said. Coverage will be delivered via seven dedicated XM channels, offering more than 55 hours of live performances from the venues, XM said.
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Are Key Loggers Being Built into New Laptops? & FCC Extends WildBlue Sat Launch Deadline by a Year & Sat TV Scores Another Canadian Piracy Win -- Posted by soullezz
on Tuesday, June 21 2005
Are Key Loggers Being Built into New Laptops?
Several Web sites and blogs have recently discussed a mysterious heatshrink-wrapped device that people are finding inside their new notebook computers from Dell, HP and Gateway. Some have claimed that these appear to be hardware key loggers - devices that capture and save everything you type into your computer using the keyboard. We haven't run across anything like this in our (Sony and Toshiba) notebook computers.
The pictures of the mystery device shown at http://c0x2.de/lol/lol.html do indeed look like the internal key logger photo shown on the Anti-Spy Shot Web site at http://www.anti-keylogger.com/keylogging_hardware.html, but the letter purporting to be from the Department of Homeland Security doesn't exactly ring true. And normally, you have to remove a hardware key logger in order to retrieve the data it's recorded, so DHS would have to actually seize your computer for it to be any good to them. So we don't buy the idea that this is some government conspiracy, and neither does Snopes.
If key loggers are being built into new computers (and that's a big "if"), it's more likely the device is intended to function like the "black boxes" in cars, perhaps to be used to collect information for troubleshooting if the computer is returned to the vendor for repairs. So far, we've heard of no responses from the hardware vendors about this. If you've recently purchased a new portable computer from a major vendor, you might want to open up the case and see what's in there, just for curiosity's sake.
as seen on winXPnews
FCC Extends WildBlue Sat Launch Deadline by a Year
On Tuesday, the International Bureau at the Federal Communications Commission granted a request from WildBlue for a one-year extension of its June 25 milestone requirements to launch and operate its own Ka-Band satellite, WildBlue 1.
At the moment, WildBlue, which unveiled its long-anticipated satellite broadband service in June, uses Telesat Canada's Anik F2 satellite for Ka-Band capacity. In its grant of WildBlue's application, the FCC bureau cited bankruptcy matters at Loral, which is manufacturing the WildBlue 1 satellite, and issues tied to an in-orbit failure of a similar satellite as reasons for its deadline extension.
However, the bureau didn't grant WildBlue's requested 18-month extension of time. The bureau said its one-year extension, to June 25, 2006, will provide the company sufficient time in which to launch WildBlue 1.
Sat TV Scores Another Canadian Piracy Win
Satellite TV interests scored another victory in Canadian courts for their efforts to crack down on piracy matters north of the border.
This week, William Boudreau was sentenced to nine months imprisonment, three for contempt and an additional six for "serious prejudice" caused by the loss of evidence from a pirate Web site. The sentence was handed down in Ontario Superior Court.
DirecTV and EchoStar, along with EchoStar's conditional access provider NagraStar, were listed in court documents as plaintiffs.
According to court records, Boudreau allegedly refused to provide passwords and other information - despite being ordered to do so - that were tied to a piracy investigation.
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New Sat Tax Target: North Carolina & Mohn Gets into the Mobile TV Biz & DirecTV HD Box Program Starts Aug. 1 -- Posted by soullezz
on Sunday, June 19 2005
New Sat Tax Target: North Carolina
Satellite TV interests are targeting another state considering a tax on pay-TV service.
StopSatelliteTax (http://www.stopsatellitetax.com) said the North Carolina House of Representatives is considering a 7 percent tax increase on pay television subscribers. The Web site said the legislation will impact nearly 900,000 families in North Carolina who subscribe to satellite TV service.
The Web site also called the legislation discriminatory because it provides a tax credit to cable subscribers - amounting to as much as 5 percent - without providing any offset for satellite TV subscribers. "The cable companies have worked hard to convince legislators to pass legislation that favors subscribers of cable over satellite," StopSatelliteTax said.
This year has been big for satellite TV tax issues, with a number of lawmakers at the state level considering levies for dish services. The Kentucky legislature passed a tax for satellite TV service, and lawmakers in Washington, Texas and Nevada, among others, also considered satellite taxes.
Mohn Gets into the Mobile TV Biz
The mobile television category is getting help from a programming veteran.
Jarl Mohn, also known as Lee Masters, has joined the board of directors of Idetic, the company that created MobiTV, a television network for mobile phones. In addition, Mohn has made a financial investment in the company and will become a senior advisor to the MobiTV management team, lending his expertise across content, distribution and technology, the company said.
Mohn was founding president of Liberty Digital, a subsidiary of Liberty Media Group involved in interactive television, cable networks, and Internet enterprises. He served as its CEO from June 1999 to March 2002. Prior to founding Liberty Digital, he was president and CEO of E! Entertainment Television where he also founded E! Online through a joint venture with CNET. From 1986 to 1989, Mohn was executive vice president and general manager of MTV and VH1.
He began his professional life with a 20-year career in radio.
MobiTV recently increased its channel lineup with programming including Major League Baseball, Fox News and The Weather Channel. Also, MobiTV said it has expanded internationally with carrier partnerships in the United Kingdom, Canada and Latin America. Leveraging the new 3G wireless data networks, MobiTV delivers television with a wide range of content and an intuitive graphical user interface.
DirecTV HD Box Program Starts Aug. 1
The news is out on DirecTV's latest effort for high-def TV, and SkyRETAILER has the details in today's edition.
The satellite TV giant said it recently sent a letter to retailers indicating that under a new program consumers who sign up for a two-year commitment tied to a qualifying programming package will be able to receive - for free - advanced set-top boxes, including equipment with DVR capabilities and systems that will connect subscribers to HD programming. Standard/basic boxes still require a one-year commitment, the company said.
The program starts Aug. 1. That's about a month before DirecTV begins to deliver NFL Sunday Ticket, its exclusive football package that will offer games in high-def.
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Sirius, XM Gain Permission for Canadian Service & NAB Starts Work on Cheap DTV Box, CEA 'Bewildered' -- Posted by soullezz
on Thursday, June 16 2005
Sirius, XM Gain Permission for Canadian Service
The Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) on Thursday approved subscription radio licenses and the establishment of a licensing framework for satellite subscription radio services.
The CRTC OK paves the way for the two U.S. satellite radio services, Sirius and XM, to begin delivering service into Canada through its partners north of the border. Specifically, the commission approved license applications from Sirius Canada, the Sirius partner, and Canadian Satellite Radio, which works with XM.
The commission placed conditions on the two licensed satellite radio services, including that the satellite radio licensees offer at least eight original channels produced in Canada. Also, at least 85 percent of musical selections and spoken word programming broadcast on the Canadian channels must be Canadian, CRTC said.
In addition, at least 25 percent of the Canadian channels must be in the French language, and at least 25 percent of the musical selections on the Canadian channels must be new Canadian musical selections. A further 25 percent of the selections must be by emerging Canadian artists, CRTC said.
The Canadian licensees must also contribute at least 5 percent of their gross annual revenues to initiatives for the development of Canadian talent, with contributions given equally to the development of English and French-language talent, CRTC said.
XM said it will work with its Canadian partner to address the differences between the Canadian content standards described in the broadcasting license and what was proposed in the original license application. "Through our strong partnership with CSR, XM will have an opportunity to expand the XM service beyond the United States and serve millions of Canadians with compelling Canadian and American programming," said Hugh Panero, XM president and CEO.
NAB Starts Work on Cheap DTV Box, CEA 'Bewildered'
The National Association of Broadcasters and the Association for Maximum Service Television Stations said they intend to pursue development of a prototype high-quality, low-cost digital to analog converter box for terrestrial digital television reception.
The organizations' announcement generated a response from consumer electronics manufacturers: You've got to be kidding.
The two broadcaster organizations said they will be publishing a Request for Quote (RFQ) soon, and will be soliciting proposals from the consumer electronics industry and others to build a prototype digital to analog converter box. The groups said they hope to have a working prototype by the end of the year.
The move comes after legislation surfaced in the Senate that aims to provide $463 million to fund equipment for low-income households that rely on off-air signals for TV reception. The bill, sponsored by Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.), would require the cut off analog TV broadcasts and switch to digital TV in January 2009.
In response, Consumer Electronics Association President and CEO Gary Shapiro said, ""This publicity stunt is novel considering that no one before has suggested any problem with creating a relatively simple digital to analog converter box.
"The issue is market demand. No one sells the product in the U.S. today as most local broadcasters do not have full-power HDTV broadcasts and only 11 percent of TV sets are even used to receive over-the-air (OTA) broadcasting," he said.
Shapiro also pointed to a an effort NAB commissioned in 1987 for a prototype model radio, calling the result "underwhelming."
He added, "We suggest broadcasters focus their resources on promoting OTA (over-the-air) broadcasting, rather than trying to confuse the situation and delay a cut-off date."
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Sides React to Analog TV Shut Off Date & Sat Radio Coming to Cell Phones & DirecTV Update Sparks TiVo Tizzy -- Posted by soullezz
on Tuesday, June 14 2005
Sides React to Analog TV Shut Off Date
Legislation unveiled Tuesday concerning the digital TV transition generated buzz inside the Beltway.
Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) introduced the "Spectrum Availability for Emergency-Response and Law-Enforcement to Improve Vital Emergency Services Act," known as The SAVE LIVES Act. The legislation would provide public safety entities with more spectrum and would require broadcasters to begin using digital TV spectrum and return their analog television spectrum by Jan. 1, 2009.
The hard date proposed for the switch from analog to digital television was what caught the eye of broadcasters and consumer electronics manufacturers.
In a statement, Edward Fritts of the National Association of Broadcasters said, "As former Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge has noted, local television stations provide a lifeline service during terrorist attacks, hurricanes, tornadoes and other natural disasters. We are committed to completing the digital transition in a timely fashion, including return of analog spectrum, and will work with Congress to ensure that millions of consumers are not left stranded by a premature end to analog broadcasting."
The Consumer Electronics Association and its president and CEO, Gary Shapiro, praised the legislation. "Sens. McCain and Lieberman have taken a critical and necessary step to expedite our nation's transition to digital television (DTV) in an effective and pro-consumer manner."
Shapiro said a hard cut-off date for analog broadcasts, as proposed in the bill, would provide certainty for consumers, manufacturers, broadcasters and others with a stake in the DTV transition. "More, a hard cut-off date will foster innovation and strengthen America's security, while completing the DTV transition in a timely manner," he said.
In addition to a shut-off date, the bill would provide $463 million to fund equipment for low-income households that rely on off-air signals for TV reception. Also, reports said cable would be authorized to downconvert local digital TV signals to analog for those without a digital TV.
Sat Radio Coming to Cell Phones
Sirius is taking its content to wireless devices.
The satellite radio company on Tuesday announced an agreement with Sprint to offer select programming via cell phones. Some of the music channels being evaluated by Sprint and Sirius for the new service include new hits, classic rock, hip-hop, country, blues and soul and jazz and Broadway's best music, the companies said.
Sirius said the new Sprint service will be available nationwide, and both companies plan to announce more specifics of the service, as well as the price, later this year.
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From Wired News: DirecTV Update Sparks TiVo Tizzy
A recent software upgrade to DirecTV receivers has infuriated TiVo users who say the change disabled their beloved digital video recorders -- and has sparked conspiratorial theories that DirecTV disabled them on purpose.
The problem mainly affects DirecTV customers with D10 receivers and a stand-alone TiVo, and who use a serial cable to control the satellite box. DirecTV DVRs that have TiVo functionality built-in are working fine.
Normally, the stand-alone TiVo will use the serial connection to change certain channels on the satellite receiver when a scheduled recording is about to begin. But because of a recent DirecTV upgrade to the D10 receivers, the satellite box no longer recognizes the TiVo's commands.
The TiVo thinks it has changed channels, but hasn't, and viewers are ending up with recorded programs they don't want to see, and missing their favorite shows, said Thomas Woellhaf, a DirecTV subscriber in Los Angeles.
"It worked for a long time just perfectly. Why fix something that is not broken?" Woellhaf said. "Now (DirecTV is) just causing more problems and making life miserable for TiVo owners."
Said one TiVo Community Forum poster who missed several shows due to the problem: "Just think if this mess had happened in the middle of the prime time season. Oh, man ... the rage."
Several ReplayTV users reported similar problems.
The situation has prompted some forum members to wonder if DirecTV was deliberately sabotaging their TiVos to get them to sign up for DirecTV DVRs.
"Absolutely not," said Jade Ekstedt, a DirecTV spokeswoman. "I can absolutely say this is not a tactic to get people to switch over to another receiver."
DirecTV is pursuing a fix but there is no estimate for when the problem will be solved, Ekstedt said.
"There was a download that occurred and there are some customers experiencing problems due to that download," she said.
Still, members of the TiVo Community Forum reported that DirecTV customer service representatives remained unaware of the problem.
DirecTV is upgrading the D10 receivers to receive "interactive content," Ekstedt said, which is causing the problem. On certain channels, the D10 boxes can display up to six programs at one time, and viewers can watch all six or switch between them.
Ekstedt said that DirecTV began rolling out the download to different markets in early May, and the company became aware of the problem shortly after the roll-out began. Complaints on the TiVo Community Forum started May 25, and have continued as more people receive the upgrade.
She said that despite the glitch, the company will continue the rollout through the end of June, while working to fix the problem.
The easiest fix is to use an IR blaster -- an add-on infrared channel switcher -- rather than the serial ports, but TiVo fans say the IR blaster has many disadvantages. It's slower, unreliable and clunky, not to mention just plain ugly, Woellhaf said.
"It's a little plastic thingy in front of your satellite receiver box and it's not very attractive to look at."
Stations Push for Puerto Rico Locals & Faster Speeds Part of Broadband Competitive Mix & DTV View Report Eyes Women and DTV -- Posted by soullezz
on Saturday, June 11 2005
Stations Push for Puerto Rico Locals
Entities with local TV stations in Puerto Rico wrote the Federal Communications Commission this week concerning satellite TV service to the U.S. commonwealth, saying DBS providers shouldn't have trouble offering local TV service to the island.
Encuentro Christian Network (ECN) and Eastern Television Corporation (ETC) told the FCC that language in the Satellite Home Viewer Extension and Reauthorization Act (SHVERA) pertaining to non-contiguous states also includes U.S. territories and possessions. They added that SHVERA requires satellite TV services to retransmit the analog signals of the TV stations in Puerto Rico, including those licensed to ECN and ETC, by Dec. 8. Digital signals should be carried by Jun 8, 2007, the entities said.
"This mandate does not create a hardship for the satellite carriers as they already carry a few local television stations in Puerto Rico by retransmission consent," they said.
International Broadcasting Corporation, which has television stations in San Juan, Aguadilla and Ponce in Puerto Rico, joined with another Puerto Rico station owner, RyF Television, in asking the FCC to require satellite TV services to carry local broadcasters serving the area.
"In sum, Puerto Rico is a small island with a large population who are limited because of terrain obstacles in their access to local television services," they said. "SHVERA is the vehicle through which these local services can be distributed to all of the island's inhabitants."
Faster Speeds Part of Broadband Competitive Mix
Faster Internet speeds are beginning to show up in the battle for customers being fought between telcos and cable companies.
Jeff Halpern of Bernstein Research recently released information that found Verizon is delivering up to 15Mbps with its FiOS service in select areas. A 30Mbps FiOS service is also available, but it is not priced for consumer adoption.
Cable has responded with a similar offer: Cox Communications announced that it would upgrade its broadband service in Northern Virginia to 15Mbps this month. Notably, Northern Virginia has one of the highest densities of planned FiOS communities, Halpern said.
Cox's 15Mbps service will be priced at $55, or 10 percent higher than Verizon's $50 price point for 15Mbps FiOS. "This suggests Cox does not intend to instigate a price war at the high end ... rather Cox intends to differentiate its service via bundling and service reliability," Halpern said.
DTV View Report Eyes Women and DTV
A recently-released report from Lyra Research's "DTV View" series, titled "Her DTV: Women and TV Technology Survey 2005," takes a look at gender as a factor in the adoption and usage of a wide range of digital TV products and services, including digital cable and satellite TV, DVRs, video-on-demand, and high-def TV.
Lyra Principal Analyst Steve Hoffenberg found that women are slightly heavier users of VOD while men are slightly heavier users of DVRs. Also, women were less likely to say they are the decision makers when buying an HDTV set. "But such differences are minor compared to the overall similarity of the genders' experiences with digital television," Hoffenberg said.
The analyst also said, "We set out to reality-test common gender stereotypes regarding consumer technology. What we found is that today's women and men are much more alike than they are different." Hoffenberg added, "When it comes to choosing and using TV technology, this survey largely dispels the notion that women are not tech-savvy."
The survey is based on a study of more than 1,800 women and a comparative sample of more than 400 men. The report is the 11th in the DTV View series on the digital television market.
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DirecTV Prepared to Offer Alaska, Hawaii Locals & Satellite Takes Aim at Multicast Ideas & FCC Extends Good Faith Obligations to Pay-TV -- Posted by soullezz
on Tuesday, June 7 2005
DirecTV Prepared to Offer Alaska, Hawaii Locals
DirecTV said it's ready to deliver local TV channels to two states that have lacked the service.
In comments sent to the Federal Communications Commission this week, DirecTV said it's preparing to retransmit analog local signals throughout Alaska and Hawaii at the end of this year, and to retransmit digital local signals throughout Alaska and Hawaii by the middle of 2007. The filing detailed the company's stand on service issues to the two states, which the FCC was collecting as part of its effort to implement the Satellite Home Viewer Extension and Reauthorization Act (SHVERA).
DirecTV said it will serve the Anchorage and Honolulu markets via its SpaceWay satellites, scheduled to begin operation later this year. Service in Fairbanks and Juneau - where DirecTV said it has "only a relative handful of customers," would also be served by capacity aboard the two Ka-Band birds.
However, the DirecTV pledge came with a twist.
The company said it cannot provide dual, HD and multicast retransmissions of local broadcast signals "everywhere" in Alaska and Hawaii by June 2007 without diverting HD and/or analog local service from other markets where it has more subscribers. (DirecTV's comments on multicast can be found in the story below.)
Satellite Takes Aim at Multicast Ideas
Satellite TV companies took aim at the idea of multicast carriage in comments sent to the Federal Communications Commission concerning service to Hawaii and Alaska, an effort that's part of the commission's implementation of the Satellite Home Viewer Extension and Reauthorization Act (SHVERA).
As part of its look into Hawaiian and Alaskan satellite TV issues, the FCC is floating the idea of a multicast carriage regime as it relates to service for the two states. Multicast carriage requirements would force satellite TV to carry additional programming streams contained in a broadcaster's digital signal.
In its comments, EchoStar suggested that the FCC is interpreting certain parts of its SHVERA enactment in a way that's "clearly contrary to Congressional intent." The company also said a multicast regime "advances none of the important governmental purposes underlying the must carry rules."
EchoStar added, "The only interest multicasting would serve is to provide broadcasters with additional revenue streams. This is not a cognizable government interest, let alone an important one."
In its comments, DirecTV said requiring HD and multicast carriage of Alaska and Hawaii stations would "greatly exacerbate the provision's constitutional infirmities."
The company added, "Not four months ago, faced with a similarly ambiguous statute, the commission declined to impose a multicast must-carry obligation in large part because of constitutional concerns. The case for Commission restraint is far stronger here."
FCC Extends Good Faith Obligations to Pay-TV
On Tuesday, the Federal Communications Commission adopted an order that extends reciprocal good faith bargaining obligations for retransmission consent to cable and satellite providers.
The move, part of the FCC's implementation of the Satellite Home Viewer Extension and Reauthorization Act (SHVERA), imposes the same bargaining obligations on cable and satellite TV companies that had previously been applied only to broadcasters in retransmission consent negotiations.
In a statement detailing the order, the FCC said it found the statutory provision within SHVERA requires the commission to apply the reciprocal bargaining obligation to the negotiation of all retransmission consent deals in and out of their designated market. The order establishes seven actions or practices as a violation of a failure to negotiate retransmission consent agreements in good faith, including:
*Refusal by a pay-TV service or broadcaster to negotiate retransmission consent;
*Refusal to put forth more than a single, unilateral proposal;
*And failure of a negotiating entity to respond to a retransmission consent proposal from another party, including the reasons for the rejection of any such proposal.
In addition to the seven standards, a pay-TV service or broadcaster may demonstrate that the other party in the negotiation breached its duty to negotiate in good faith, the FCC said.
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Cablevision Suspends VOOM Sat Work, Provides Loss Estimates & A Delay for Spaceway Launch & Stevens Eyes 2009 for DTV Switch ... Maybe -- Posted by soullezz
on Monday, June 6 2005
Cablevision Suspends VOOM Sat Work, Provides Loss Estimates
Cablevision suspended work on extra satellites that were going to support VOOM, the company's struggling satellite TV service it shut down on April 30.
In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing released Monday, Cablevision said that on June 1 it got satellite manufacturer Lockheed Martin to suspend work on the satellites. Back in November, Cablevision's Rainbow DBS unit entered into a contract with Lockheed Martin for construction of up to five satellites designed to use Ka-Band licenses obtained by Rainbow DBS for its VOOM satellite television business.
Cablevision said it has until Nov. 21 to terminate or restart activity under the satellite manufacturing contract with Lockheed Martin.
Also, Cablevision said it still anticipates incurring significant costs tied to early termination of various contracts, other contractual obligations, employee termination benefits and other costs associated with VOOM's demise. The costs are estimated to range from $100 million to $130 million, the company said.
A Delay for Spaceway Launch
A technical issue with one of two satellites slated for launch on the night of June 24 has resulted in a change of Arianespace's mission scheduling.
The next launch is now set for the night of Thursday, July 7, using an Ariane 5 vehicle to orbit the IPStar satellite for Thailand's Shinsat telecommunications operator. Originally, DirecTV's Spaceway 2 satellite was set to fly on the Ariane vehicle.
A DirecTV spokesperson said the company is in discussions with Arianespace about the re-scheduling development, and that the company's goal is to launch Spaceway 2 in July. The delay is not tied to an issue aboard the Spaceway satellite, which has been ready for launch for two months.
The Spaceway spacecraft is one of four satellites DirecTV is launching during a two-year period as part of an in-orbit expansion. The satellites will enable DirecTV to deliver more than 1,500 local and more than 150 national HD channels and other advanced programming services to consumers nationwide by 2007.
Stevens Eyes 2009 for DTV Switch ... Maybe
Ted Stevens, the Alaska Republican and chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, told a gathering at the Federal Communications Bar Association's annual meeting Monday that legislation being hammered out in Congress may contain a hard date for the switch to digital TV for 2009.
However, Stevens added, "We're not sure of that yet."
Stevens also said issues pertaining to rural areas also must be addressed. "One of the great problems is to develop a program that funds the analog translators in rural areas so they can receive and transmit digital signals. This has not been really solved by us yet. I do think we will have some suggestions on that," the senator said.
as seen on skyreport
MPAA Takes on DISH and Retrans & FCC Ready to Tackle Alaska/Hawaii Issues -- Posted by soullezz
on Friday, June 3 2005
MPAA Takes on DISH and Retrans
The Motion Picture Association of America sent a strongly-worded letter to the Federal Communications Commission about a suggestion made by EchoStar concerning the commission's work on reciprocal bargaining obligations for retransmission of local TV stations.
Specifically, the MPAA addressed a proposal that would allow satellite TV operators to use good faith requirements as a tool to force broadcast stations to breach agreements in order to grant retransmission consent in areas outside their designated market areas. "The commission should determine that it has no authority to abrogate contractual agreements between broadcasters and content providers, such as MPAA's member companies, concerning retransmission consent in a broadcaster's DMA," the association said.
MPAA asked the FCC to reject EchoStar's arguments and decline to issue any rule that such a refusal violates the FCC's good faith bargaining requirements for gaining retransmission consent.
The FCC look at retransmission consent is part of its work to implement the Satellite Home Viewer Extension and Reauthorization Act (SHVERA).
Concerning the MPAA effort, EchoStar said in a statement, "In passing SHVERA, Congress clearly stated its desire to make significantly viewed channels available to consumers. Broadcasters and rights-holders such as the MPAA should not be permitted to thwart Congress' goals by private agreement and thus trample consumer rights."
FCC Ready to Tackle Alaska/Hawaii Issues
Next Monday, the Federal Communications Commission will begin taking comments on proposed requirements for satellite TV carriage of local TV signals to non-contiguous states and possibly U.S. territories, work that's part of its implementation of the Satellite Home Viewer Extension and Reauthorization Act (SHVERA).
In addition to that matter, the FCC proceeding also will scrutinize issues surrounding multicast. An FCC spokesperson said the proceeding involves only a look at multicast in terms of a possible requirement for satellite TV service in Alaska and Hawaii.
The FCC said it will seek comment on proposed rules that would require satellite TV services with more than 5 million subscribers to carry both the analog and digital signals of local TV stations in non-contiguous states. The nation's biggest satellite TV services, DirecTV and EchoStar's DISH Network, provide services to far-flung Alaska and Hawaii, and DISH Network provides local channels in the two states.
The FCC notice also seeks comment on a number of other issues, such as whether the term non-contiguous states includes territories and possessions such as Puerto Rico and Guam. It also seeks comment on the interpretation that satellite carriers' obligation to carry local TV signals extends to the whole broadcast signal, including multicast digital signals and high-def signals, said a statement outlining the FCC proceeding.
The FCC said SHVERA requires satellite TV services to provide signals to substantially all subscribers in each station's local market by Dec. 8 for analog signals and by June 8, 2007, for digital signals. And, the FCC pointed out, DirecTV and EchoStar qualify for local TV carriage requirements for non-contiguous states because they have more than five million subscribers.
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