- - - NRTC Files Second Lawsuit Against DirecTV - - -

The National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative filed a second breach of contract lawsuit against DirecTV, alleging that the DBS provider unlawfully withheld tens of millions of dollars in launch fees and programming discounts.

"To say we have mixed feelings about filing a lawsuit against our business partner would be putting it mildly," NRTC President and CEO Bob Phillips said. "Ultimately, we decided we simply had to take this action to serve the best interests of our rural American customers - and in fact for all rural Americans. DirecTV is bent on leaving rural America behind with non-competitive prices."

At issue is DirecTV's refusal to "fairly share the financial benefits the company reaps when it enters into distribution contracts with various television programmers for carriage of the programmers' services on the DirecTV platform," according to the NRTC.

The monies include, but are not limited to: discounts, volume price breaks and other financial benefits based on subscriber count and growth; advertising allowances and revenues relating to distribution of programming and advertising; cost savings for shared use of satellites, transmission and other facilities; and channel launch fees, which are in essence, payments or credits that TV or cable programming services pay DirecTV for carriage.

The NRTC said DirecTV is contractually obligated to share a proportionate share of these monies, based on the cooperative's percentage of the total subscriber base. More than 22 percent of the current DirecTV subscriber base resides in NRTC territories and is served by an NRTC member or affiliate, according to the cooperative.

- - - FutureTrak To Buy Golden Sky MSO Business - - -

FutureTrak International entered into an agreement to acquire Golden Sky Systems' Master System Operator (MSO) division, the unit in charge of multiple-dwelling unit (MDU) efforts at the company.

Golden Sky is an independent provider of DirecTV to roughly 312,000 subscribers living in territories operated by the National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative. Golden Sky's President Rodney Weary said, "The move to sell our DirecTV MSO division will allow us to focus on growing our homogeneous NRTC subscriber base."

FutureTrak recently entered into another agreement with Celerity Systems to merge the two companies and focus on providing information and entertainment to the multi-housing marketplace using digital convergence technology. A FutureTrak spokesman said the winners in both deals are "the multi-housing property owners and residents."

- - - Bank Criticizes DTH Sale Court Decision - - -

Transamerica Bank, formerly known as Whirlpool Financial National Bank, expressed dismay with a judge's denial of a request to set aside a $581 million jury verdict assessed against the company in a case involving alleged misrepresentations during a satellite dish sale.

The sale was for two satellite systems in Alabama. The judge reduced the award to $301 million. "The fact that the judge reduced the verdict to $301 million in no way corrects this miscarriage of justice," Transamerica Bank said.

At the time of the purchase in 1995, the plaintiffs chose to buy the systems on credit and to apply for credit cards offered by the bank.

More than two years after the transactions took place, the plaintiffs filed suit claiming they were misled by an employee at the independent retail store with respect to payment terms. Nothing in the written financing documents supported the claim, the bank said.

The $581 million verdict outraged business interests and prompted the state legislature to put caps on punitive damage awards in Alabama.

- - - AT&T Considers Tracking Stock For Cable - - -

AT&T, which has seen its stock sink 16 percent since achieving a record high in July, may consider creating a separate tracking stock that would follow its cable and wireless operations, according to reports.

AT&T said earlier this year it would consider tracking stocks after scrapping a plan to create separate shares for its cable and wireless businesses. TheStreet.com, an Internet financial news service, said AT&T is again serious about a tracking stock for those businesses.

One AT&T business, Liberty Media, has a tracking stock.

AT&T declined to comment on the news.

- - - BSkyB Eyes Original Movies-Shows - - -

British Sky Broadcasting formed a new unit to oversee production of shows and movies that will be exclusive to the service, according to Bloomberg.

The new unit, Sky Productions, will oversee BSkyB's movie studio Sky Pictures and the creation of shows for BSkyB's Sky One and Sky Premier channels. The unit will spend about 65 million pounds ($103 million) during the financial year ending June 30.

Chief Executive Tony Ball, who joined BSkyB in June after working for News Corp.'s Fox/Liberty Networks, said earlier this month that original programming will be a priority for the service. BSkyB is 40 percent-owned by Rupert Murdoch's media machine.

- - - PROGRAMMING: - - -

• DISH Features International Cricket Events -
  DISH Network is offering two major Fox Sports International cricket events to its pay-per-view service. The Aiwa Cup, featuring India, Sri Lanka and Australia, airs through Sept. 1. The Coca-Cola Singapore Challenge, featuring teams from India, Zimbabwe and the West Indies, airs Sept. 1 through Sept. 7. Customers can order single matches, the entire Aiwa Cup for $130, the entire Coca-Cola series for $70, or both events for $180.

• XM Signs The Weather Channel -
  XM Satellite Radio has announced that The Weather Channel will be the exclusive provider of weather forecasts and related information for a number of XM channels. XM, a division of American Mobile Satellite, is scheduled to begin its satellite radio service in 2001.

• Showtime Series Features D'Angelo -
  Actress Beverly D'Angelo will appear in Showtime's comedy series, "Rude Awakening," on Sat., Sept. 9 at 10 p.m. ET. D'Angelo will appear in six episodes of the series, which is about a "woman's daily struggle with sobriety that pushed the limit every chance it gets."

• Announcement of Interactive Content Company -
  MediaX, a developer of new media content which recently signed an agreement with EchoStar to broadcast amuZnet.com, has picked up entertainment veteran Ian Copeland to develop original music programming. The company also announced Thursday that it has completed its first phase of financing and successfully raised $2 million.

• Hurricane Boosts TWC Ratings -
  The Weather Channel's recent coverage of Hurricane Bret brought a surge to its ratings. On Aug. 22 the network received a 0.9 total day rating, which qualified as the 15th highest rated day in TWC history.