SkyREPORT.COM News Headlines
News Update For 12/23/99
Comcast To Buy The Rest Of Jones
Comcast, the No. 3 U.S. cable operator behind AT&T and Time Warner, will buy the rest of Jones Intercable for about $3.2 billion in stock. The transaction will allow Comcast to add more than a million subscribers and increase its presence in the mid-Atlantic. Before Wednesday's deal, Comcast had a 37 percent ownership stake and a 47 percent voting interest in Jones. Comcast will exchange 1.4 shares of its special Class A stock for each Jones Class A and common share. According to press reports, that would value Jones at about $71.40 per share. The deal still requires approval from two-thirds of the holders of each class of Jones shares. The deal also will be studied by regulators.
Europeans Speculate About TV Merger
Shares in the French multichannel provider Canal Plus jumped more than 15 percent in recent days due to speculation about a possible merger. European market analysts increasingly expect that Spain's Telefonica is interested in buying a 9 percent stake in Canal Plus from Vivendi, which owns 49 percent of the broadcasting group. Should that happen, according to the British newspaper The Guardian, it's likely Canal Plus' subsidiary Canal Satellite and Telefonica's subsidiary, Via Digital, would move toward a merger. Both companies also are pursuing Internet and interactive television services. A merger could present a political dilemma for the companies, however, as it would run against the pro-competitive philosophy harbored by European Union officials.
Space Imaging Offers Landmark Photos
The first series of Space Imaging's Carterra high-resolution pictures showing familiar landmarks around the world have gone on sale at the company's Web site, www.spaceimaging.com. The one-meter resolution black-and-white and four-meter resolution color Carterra images show Disney's Magic Kingdom in Florida, the Taj Mahal in India, Vatican City in Rome and several other well-known locations. The photos cost $10 a piece. Space Imaging's vice president of North American sales and marketing, Brian Soliday, said, "These images go a long way in helping people understand how imagery can become part of their business solutions." Other satellite-snapped landmarks collected by Space Imaging include Central Park in New York City, the Forbidden City in Beijing, China and the Millennium Wheel and Big Ben in London.
Pick To Sell Bulk of Satellite Subsidiary
The satellite-based broadband Internet services company Pick Communications recently signed a letter of intent to sell 80 percent of the stock in its Pick Sat subsidiary, which provides broadband Internet access. The sale agreement provides for Pick and all other holders of options and warrants to receive $10 million of the buyer's common stock, plus up to an additional $10 million of such securities upon achievement of certain milestones by Pick Sat. An additional $10 million in cash will be paid to Pick Sat at the closing. Pick only said the sale agreement was with a publicly held American company. In recent months, Pick Sat has been focusing on broadband services in Latin America. Diego Leiva, Pick Sat's chairman and CEO, said, "We believe that this acquisition proves Pick's vision that the Latin American region was ready to embrace a turnkey broadband solution ... (It) will also leave Pick Communications with sizeable financial resources so it can expand its activities elsewhere."
INTL: EchoStar Previews Zee Movies
- DISH Promotes South Asian Channel - EchoStar's DISH Network is offering a free preview of the popular South Asian movie channel, Zee Gold, until Jan. 15. After that the network will be available for $12.99 a month.
- Eutelsat Ready For New Millennium - The European satellite operator Eutelsat reports it has completed Y2K testing to ensure its satellites will continue beaming television, telephone and Internet data during the millennium date rollover. Eutelsat said it successfully tested the satellites in April and again in October of this year.
- Cancom Marks Successful Issue Offering - Cancom (Canadian Satellite Communications) completed a new issue offering of 6,717,808 common shares, many of which were bought by Shaw Communications, at a price of C$18.25 per share. The estimated net proceeds from the issue equal C$117,620,000, which the company said will primarily be used for debt repayment.
- Europe Wants Its MTV - MTV Networks Europe and Societe Europeenne des Satellites (SES), operator of Europe's ASTRA Satellite System, have signed a long-term contract for the digital transmission of at least eight customized music channels for different European language markets. The ASTRA 1G transponder number 118 now hosts these nine MTV program feeds: MTV Central, MTV European (including Spanish and French advertising), MTV Extra, MTV Base, VH1 Germany, VH1 Export, VH1 Classic and M2.
- Mexico's Edusat Educates Continent - Mexico's Cisneros Television Group and Instituto Latinoamericano de la Comunicacion Educativa recently launched a multimedia educational TV channel that is being carried on the Mexican government's Edusat satellite network. The network is beamed directly to classrooms throughout Latin America.