- - - EchoStar Among Merrill Lynch Favored 15 - - -

On Thursday, DBS provider EchoStar Communications was named to Merrill Lynch's "favored 15 list" of choice stocks.

Other communications companies joining the DISH stock were Cablevision Systems and cable maker CommScope. Top consumer electronics outlets Circuit City and Tandy Corp., which runs the RadioShack outfit, also were on the list. Both Circuit City and RadioShack sell systems from EchoStar's chief competitor, DirecTV.

Technology stocks ended up big on the list, but Internet interests were skipped over for more traditional companies. Among the picks were Cisco Systems, Intel and IBM, the world's largest computer maker. Also on the list were Motorola, Nortel Networks and Texas Instruments.

- - - DISH Ready For Launch - - -

As of late Thursday night, EchoStar 5 was still set for launch from Cape Canaveral early Monday morning, around 1:12 a.m. Eastern Time.

Lightning struck Launch Complex 36A, the pad where the rocket stands, during the Labor Day weekend. That forced officials to delay the launch from early Friday morning to Monday.

Weather forecasts for the Central Florida region, including Cape Canaveral, called for a chance of afternoon and early evening showers and thunderstorms both Sunday and Monday.

EchoStar 5 will be the third satellite to be launched for the DBS company under the auspices of Lockheed's International Launch Services. Prior ILS launches included EchoStar 3, carried by an Atlas 2AS on Oct. 5, 1997, and EchoStar 4, launched aboard a Proton on May 7, 1998.

- - - FCC Tackles Lockheed/COMSAT Merger - - -

The Federal Communications Commission will vote next week on allowing Lockheed Martin to acquire 49 percent of COMSAT, paving part of the way for the traditional defense/aerospace giant to enter the commercial satellite business.

In its meeting next week, the FCC will consider Lockheed's application for authorized carrier status, which would remove a hurdle to the company's two-step purchase of COMSAT. Under the 1962 Communication Satellite Act, any unauthorized private sector company is forbidden from owning more than 10 percent of COMSAT. The provision dates back to COMSAT's establishment as the sole U.S. reseller of services on the Intelsat and Inmarsat systems.

Commissioners also may vote to expose COMSAT to greater competition, possibly giving other companies the right to directly access the Intelsat system.

Meanwhile, Lockheed istrying to divest its 16 percent stake in Loral in an effort to get antitrust approval from the Justice Department for its Comsat acquisition.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Lockheed said its plans to sell the Loral stake involved receiving assurances from Loral, but it had been unable to obtain those assurances.

- - - SkyFORUM To Feature CEO Margolese - - -

The Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association and SkyTRENDS have announced that CD Radio Chairman, CEO and Co-founder David Margolese will give an on-stage interview at the SkyFORUM satellite industry symposium next week.

The 12th semi-annual SkyFORUM will be held Thurs., Sept. 16, at the Marriot Marquis in New York City. Margolese will be interviewed at 9:20 a.m. by Harry Jessell, editor of Broadcasting and Cable magazine.

CD Radio is building a digital satellite radio system that will broadcast up to 100 channels of music and other programming to motorists throughout the United States.

For more information or to register for SkyFORUM, visit www.sbca.com or contact Rachel Zink at 703-549-6990 ext. 363 or send e-mail to rzink@sbca.org.

- - - Another Broadcast Mega-Deal In The Works? - - -

Sources say NBC is close to an agreement to buy a 32 percent stake in Paxson Communications for about $400 million, possibly creating the second broadcast mega-deal this week.

On Tuesday, Viacom agreed to acquire CBS for $37.2 billion. Viacom's properties include MTV Networks and Showtime.

The NBC purchase of the Paxson stake would likely be a first step toward the broadcaster's takeover of the entire company. The companies would need federal regulators to ease restrictions on TV station ownership.

NBC owns 13 TV stations and reaches 27.9 percent of U.S. households.

- - - ON TV: - - -

• DirecTV Teams Up With Food Network -
  DirecTV's NFL Sunday Ticket Kickoff will include presentations of the Food Network's cooking game show "Ready...Set...Cook!" with guest appearances by NFL legends Joe Namath, Tony Dorsett, Bernie Kosar and Don Shula. DirecTV subscribers in Ohio, New Jersey, Florida, Texas and California will have the opportunity to participate in the program, which begins on Sat., Sept. 11, and runs through Oct. 9.
• ESPN Gears Up For Football -
  Fierce rivals the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cleveland Browns will square off in ESPN's Sunday Night Football season opener at 8:15 p.m. this Sunday, Sept. 12. ESPN2 will air a 90-minute special called "The Browns Are Back" tonight at 9:30 p.m. about the team's three-year absence from the NFL. ESPN's coverage this year also will include enhanced TV options such as interactive team statistics and game playing.

• EUTELSAT To Launch Game Network -
  Game Network, the first pan-European digital television channel dedicated to video games and international multimedia entertainment, launches on the Paris-based satellite provider EUTELSAT on Sept. 17. The 24-hour-a-day channel also will be available in North Africa and parts of the Middle East.

• America's Favorite Game Shows Go Interactive -
  Beginning Oct. 4 "Wheel Of Fortune" Interactive and "JEOPARDY!" Interactive will be available to subscribers of the WebTV Plus Service. This new interactive TV programming will allow viewers to solve puzzles and answer questions. Sony Pictures Entertainment and WebTV plan to market the interactive game shows with the tagline "Watch! Play! Win!" to other subscription TV platforms.

• TNT Unveils First Series Slate -
  TNT has introduced its first original series slate. Several programs are being considered such "Bull," about a group of investment bankers who start their own company; "Power," about the Las Vegas business world; and "The Warden," about a female warden in an all-male maximum-security prison. Those series selected to run will begin next summer.