SkyREPORT.COM News Headlines
News Update For 2/22/00
DISH Adds Tampa-Readies Sacramento
On Monday, EchoStar's DISH Network added Tampa-St. Petersburg to its slate of local broadcast channels, and will start service for Sacramento next week. The Tampa channels offered by EchoStar are WFTS-ABC, WTSP-CBS, WFLA-NBC and WTVT-FOX. With the addition of Tampa-St. Petersburg, DISH Network offers local channels in 23 cities. Next Monday, DISH will add Sacramento channels to its local-into-local package. Local broadcast network channels in the Sacramento area include KXKL-FOX, KCRA-NBC, KOVR-CBS and KXTV-ABC.
BSkyB Denies Early Soccer Bid
British Sky Broadcasting denied media reports that the company made an early 2 billion pound bid for the TV rights to highly-coveted English Premier League soccer. The Guardian newspaper in London reported that the satellite broadcaster made the offer even though there has been no formal bidding for the package. "Sky has not made any offer to the Premier League, nor have we yet been invited to make any offer," a company spokesman said. "The Premier League has still to circulate the tender documents to prospective bidders. "Any talk of any bids being made now by any broadcasters is ill-founded or mischievous." BSkyB has found phenomenal success with its exclusive soccer coverage. The Premier League consists of England's top soccer clubs.
Liberty Goes North
Liberty Media is taking a stake in Corus Entertainment, a Canadian company delivering radio and cable/satellite networks. John Malone's media company, the programming arm of AT&T, agreed to buy 7.1 million of Corus's non-voting shares for C$28.05 ($19.32) a share. That will give Liberty a 19.9 percent stake. The deal was announced Monday. Corus is a spin-off of cable and Internet provider Shaw Communications. The company has 14 radio stations and cable channels such as Teletoon and youth-oriented YTV. The company also has 10 percent of CTV Inc., a Canadian broadcaster. Corus is rumored to be eyeing a takeover of the national network.
TECHNOLOGY: BroadLogic Forms Partnership
- BroadLogic, Satellite Engineering Partner - BroadLogic, a provider of broadband networking equipment, and Satellite Engineering Group Inc., a national equipment distributor and satellite system integrator, formed an alliance to deliver network solutions for satellite systems and networks throughout North America. The turnkey solutions combine BroadLogic's Satellite Express DVB receivers with engineering, installation, project management and maintenance services from Satellite Engineering. The partnership aims to provide large corporations, broadcasters and Internet infrastructure providers a one-stop source for the integration of reliable DVB based IP networking solutions.
- InterPacket Joins Intel Group - InterPacket, a satellite-based Internet services network, has become a member of the Intel Internet Service Provider Program. The chip maker's ISP program assists the growing product and service needs of regional and local ISPs and provides them with a line of local and wide area network connectivity products and recipes for server solutions.
- Another Launch For Arianespace - An Ariane rocket launched a Japanese communications satellite into orbit late last week. The Ariane 44LP vehicle took off from the European Space Agency launch center in Kourou, French Guiana, carrying the satellite known as SUPERBIRD-4. The customer is Japan's Space Communication Corporation. Hughes Space and Communications built the satellite.