SkyREPORT.COM News Headlines
News Update For 12/15/99
DISH Network Continues Record Pace
EchoStar Communications added approximately 137,000 net new DISH Network customers in November, a record for that month and a 36 percent increase over November 1998. The additions bring DISH Network's total customer base to approximately 3,250,000. EchoStar said November marked the fourteenth consecutive month the company achieved customer growth of over 100,000 net subscribers. The company also announced the availability of the new DISHPlayer 500 satellite receiver system this week. The system includes Microsoft's WebTV Personal TV service, which features digital video recording capabilities, live TV pause, interactive television and Internet access. And it can receive up to 500 channels of programming transmitted from two EchoStar satellites at the same time. The DISHPlayer 500 receiver is priced at $299, with WebTV Personal TV service and WebTV Plus service priced at $9.99 and $24.95 per month respectively. A free software upgrade is available for some DISHPlayer 300 customers.
Hughes, PanAmSat Anticipate Historic Launch
Hughes Space and Communications (HSC) is planning for the first launch of its HS 702 satellite series. The company says the scheduled launch of the Galaxy XI satellite for PanAmSat on December 21 will usher in a new era in communications satellites. Galaxy XI, with a total of 64 transponders and end-of-life power of more than 10 kilowatts, will be the largest commercial communications satellite ever deployed into space, according to Hughes. R. Douglas Kahn, PanAmSat's president and chief executive officer, said, "The HS 702 model Galaxy XI, with its large communications payload and high power, represents exciting new satellite technology from HSC. Galaxy XI will enable PanAmSat to deliver state-of-the-art satellite services to video, Internet and telecommunications customers throughout North America.'' Galaxy XI will cover most of the Americas from an orbital position of 99 degrees West Longitude, before being migrated to 91 degrees West Longitude at a later date. It will carry 40 Ku-band and 24 C-band transponders and has an estimated service life of 15 years.
Golden Sky Announces November Additions
Golden Sky DBS, the second largest DirecTV distributor in territories operated by the National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative, added 7,000 net new subscribers during November. The company said all subscriber additions during the month resulted from internal growth. The November numbers increased Golden Sky's customer count to about 335,500. Golden Sky also announced the sale during November of its separate commercial and multiple dwelling unit (MDU) business operations. The company's MDU operations served approximately 4,600 subscribers.
EchoStar Added to Nasdaq-100 Index
EchoStar's DISH Network has been named to the Nasdaq-100 Index, effective as soon as the market opens on Monday, Dec. 20, 1999. EchoStar recently received high marks in J.D. Power and Associates' 1999 Cable/Satellite TV Customer Satisfaction Study. Shares in the company have continued to soar this year even after a series of stock splits. As a result of these successes, EchoStar stock will be included in the Nasdaq-100 Index Tracking Stock, which are securities that represent ownership in the Nasdaq-100 Trust. The Trust holds a portfolio of equity securities that compose the Nasdaq-100 Index and aims to provide investment results that generally correspond with its performance. The Nasdaq-100 Index Tracking Stock was launched in March to provide investors with an instrument that seeks to track the performance of the Nasdaq-100 Index. Since its inception, the fund's total assets have grown to over $4 billion. Charlie Ergen, EchoStar chairman and CEO, said "Our addition to the Nasdaq-100 Index is a major milestone for EchoStar ... We are committed to being the industry leader in offering innovative digital technology, interactive television and the most programming at the lowest cost. Our tremendous customer growth proves that customers want choice and value in their television programming." Shares in EchoStar closed down more than 5 percent Tuesday at $86.13.
COMPETITIVE WATCH: FCC and Broadband
- Association Speaks Out on Broadband Issue - The American Cable Association, which represents 300 independent cable companies, filed comments this week urging the Federal Communications Commission to review broadband deployment regulations. The organization argued that the FCC's current research process is "tilted toward common carrier and telephone technologies, which tend to overlook broadband deployment by cable."
- AT&T Picks Up Interactive Content - AT&T Broadband & Internet Services' (BIS) Interactive Offerings Group has signed deals with Buzztime, a game company, and Food.com to design interactive content for AT&T's cable business. The new content will be available in mid-2000. *Showtime Beyond Boosts Company's Package - Showtime Networks said Tuesday that since the launch of Showtime Beyond in September, the company 's multiplex channel package has passed 9.9 million basic cable homes in over 100 systems.
- Prasara Develops Interactive Pizza Service - Orlando-based Prasara Technologies, which provides business and technical solutions for cable TV operators, has announced the launch of Pizza Hut On Demand to customers of Oceanic in Mililani, Hawaii. The Pizza Hut service is a two-way, digital interactive ordering program.
- CableLabs Nods To Thomson - Thomson Multimedia's RCA Broadband products group has earned CableLabs certification and Excite@Home Level 2 approval on its first submission of a second-generation high-speed digital cable modem, RCA DCM205.
- Keep An Eye on ZDTV - ZDTV, the cable channel about computing and technology, has been picked up by Adelphia Cable in Vermont; Charter Communications in California; Garden State Cable in New Jersey; GCI System in Alaska; and MediaOne in parts of Georgia, Florida, Virginia and Massachusetts. The network also has announced that it was awarded the 1999 Streaming Media People's Choice Award for Best Consumer Programming.