Douglas L Ross: Satellite Television Industry

EchoStar IX Satellite

Wed, 06 Aug 2003 14:10:12 GMT

They claim that EchoStar IX [operating at the 121 degree West Longitude orbital location] will be the first commercial Ka-band spot-beam deployed over the United States. They are a little vague about what they are going to use the Ka-band capacity for suggesting that "the Ka-band portion of the satellite will be used to deliver future broadband initiatives for the company." The Ku-band FSS (fixed satellite services) transponders that will add capacity to EchoStar's current DISH Network DTH service. The satellite also has a C-band component that Loral will operate.

Can EchoStar Survive Murdoch's DirecTV?

Mon, 14 Apr 2003 21:11:44 GMT

B Sky B: Big Gains on Big Gambles. Anyone doubting the magnitude of the challenge facing EchoStar should consider the saga of Rupert Murdoch's B Sky B in Britain. By Alan Cowell. [New York Times: Technology]

SBC Rumored To Be Out Of DirecTV Bidding

Fri, 04 Apr 2003 14:24:59 GMT

Siting sources close to the negotiations a number of news organizations are reporting today that SBC has dropped out of the bidding for DirecTV.

SBC Drops Out of Bidding for Hughes and DirecTV. SBC Communications dropped out of bidding for Hughes Electronics and its DirecTV satellite television operation. By Andrew Ross Sorkin. [New York Times: Technology]

http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/business/5539187.htm [San Jose Mercury News]

DirecTV Bidders Now Include Cablevision

Fri, 28 Mar 2003 14:52:42 GMT

According to this article in Forbes, the bidders for DirecTV now include Cablevision, News Corp. Liberty and SBC, http://www.forbes.com/newswire/2003/03/27/rtr922735.html

BBC's Celebdaq Celebrity Trading Game

Thu, 06 Mar 2003 14:23:43 GMT

The basic principal is that clelbrities are traded on an exchange like stocks. Their value is influenced by player trading which in turn is influenced by, among other things, what the BBC broadcasts every Friday night at 10:30pm on BBC3. A very clever idea and apparently a sensation in the UK. Here's the link to the Celebdaq website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/celebdaq/index.shtml

Hughes / AOL

Tue, 04 Mar 2003 16:18:25 GMT

Hughes, AOL finalize divorce. The General Motors unit discloses that it has ended its relationship with AOL Time Warner's America Online division, according to a regulatory filing by the DirecTV operator. [CNET News.com]

Hughes and AOL Part Company

Tue, 04 Mar 2003 16:14:00 GMT

Reporting on the end of the strategic relationship between Hughes and AOL.

LA Times (registration required) http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-aol4mar04,1,312976.story?coll=la%2Dheadlines%2Dpe%2Dbusiness

WSJ (subscription required) http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB10467221763794400,00.html?mod=technology_main_whats_news

EchoStar Q4 2002 Results Out Today

Tue, 04 Mar 2003 12:43:14 GMT

EchoStar added 400,000 net new subs in Q4-2002, well ahead of industry estimates. They also wrote off the $690 million penalty they had to pay Hughes for termination of the DirecTV deal, otherwise they had a good quarter and a good financial year with revenue up ~20% for the year to $4.8 billion, and EBITDA up 58% for the year to $806 million.

WSNet Inc.

Mon, 03 Mar 2003 15:03:26 GMT

Multi-Channel news reported today that EchoStar might be looking at buying WSNet which is near bankruptcy. WSNet delivers video content feeds to private networks (apartments, etc.) and small rural cable operators.

Electronic Media story about SBC bid for Direct TV

Mon, 17 Feb 2003 13:59:06 GMT

Electronic Media is reporting that News Corp is bidding $7.5 billion for DirecTV (25% less than SBC is thought to be bidding).

Mon, 10 Feb 2003 18:47:22 GMT

A Bid by SBC for DirecTV Would Confirm Cable's Reach. Edward E. Whitacre Jr., the chairman of SBC, has good reason to consider making a bid to take over DirecTV. By Andrew Ross Sorkin. [New York Times: Business]