EchoStar revealed plans for new satellites and an aggressive launch schedule along with an extensive list of programming announcements and small dish sales pitches Wednesday. Three new satellites ordered by EchoStar will take the company's DBS fleet to nine birds. Two of the birds, EchoStar VII and VIII, are spot-beam satellites that will allow DISH to offer local channels in 60 or more markets across the United States. EchoStar IX, a hybrid Ku/Ka-Band spacecraft, is expected to deliver business-to-business communications and expanded services that may include two-way Internet capabilities. EchoStar VII, which will be built by Lockheed Martin, will reside at 119 degrees. EchoStar VIII will be located at 110 degrees. EchoStar IX will be stationed at the company's Ka-Band slot at 121 degrees. Space Systems/Loral will build EchoStar VIII and IX. Delivery of EchoStar VII and EchoStar VIII should occur in December 2001. Delivery of the EchoStar IX bird is expected sometime in 2002. This spring, the company will launch the already-built EchoStar VI. EchoStar's announcement that it will deliver Internet and data, made Wednesday at its Team Summit gathering of retailers in Denver, follows other unveilings of satellite broadband platforms this year. In January, iSKY, backed by Liberty Media and others, announced plans to launch Ka-Band satellites in 2001 and 2002 for a consumer broadband offering. Hughes said last month that it plans to debut two-way Internet applications for DirecPC by the end of the year. Last week, VSAT provider Gilat unveiled the Gilat-To-Home broadband platform with Microsoft. On Wednesday, Gilat and EchoStar formally announced their partnership, which will deliver two-way, high-speed Internet access along with the DBS service. SkyREPORT.COM first reported those plans last week. EchoStar also announced new channels and an additional programming package for DISH Network. Outdoor Life, Speedvision, Cartoon Network's Boomerang and CNN/Si will be available in DISH's new America's Top 150 package. Turner South will be available in America's Top 100 programming package. EchoStar also will add Starz-Encore channels. DISH Network is the first satellite provider to carry Boomerang and Turner South. EchoStar's announcements pushed its shares up more than $20 Wednesday. The DISH stock closed at $120.81. The dealer summit continues today.

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FCC Gets Video Description Comments

The Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association and DirecTV submitted comments to the Federal Communications Commission on video description of video programming. Video descriptions - as proposed by the agency - are aimed to allow viewers with visual disabilities to better follow the action on television. "Making television programming available to as many diverse audiences as possible has great appeal and is a worthy public policy objective to be pursued by the commission," SBCA said. "However, it should be carefully crafted and balanced in view of the many new issues that are at play in today's video marketplace." Some of SBCA's comments focused on C-Band. The organization said adding video descriptions to the analog signals would destroy audio security, leaving all audio in the clear. Currently, C-Band utilizes two encrypted audio channels within a satellite television program signal for stereo reception. As a result, video description could only be delivered to subscribers on an unencrypted audio sub-carrier. SBCA also said requiring video description for DBS can displace services popular with consumers while actual demand for video description remains unknown. DirecTV, which provides some video descriptions, questioned whether the FCC has jurisdiction in the matter. "While DirecTV is committed to continuing to provide video description on a voluntary basis, DirecTV does not believe the commission has the statutory authority to promulgate and apply video description rules to DBS providers," the company said. "If the commission were to propose such rules, it would create tremendous technical and financial burdens for DBS operators." DirecTV said a big concern with video descriptions is their potential impact on local channels. "Massive upgrades would be necessary, for example, to provide an additional audio channel for each broadcast and non-broadcast network covered by the rules," DirecTV's filing said.

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BSkyB Partner Faces More Scrutiny

The U.K. Competition Commission, Britain's antitrust regulator, extended a review of Vivendi's 24.5 percent stake in British Sky Broadcasting until late March, citing "important late evidence that needs to be explored." The commission, which initially wanted to close its inquiry in late February, is investigating whether the French company's stake in the satellite provider could restrict competition. In addition to Vivendi, BSkyB's partners include News Corp., which has a 40 percent stake in the company. In July, Vivendi paid $2.7 billion for a piece of both BSkyB and Canal Plus, France's largest pay-TV operator. There is speculation that Vivendi wants to create an alliance between the two companies, or possibly merge the two operations into one platform. News Corp. has opposed those moves in the past. Specifically, the Competition Commission is looking into whether Vivendi's stake in BSkyB could impact competition for U.K. sports and film rights.

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AT&T-Cablevision Partner for Phone Service

AT&T is working with Cablevision Systems to sell phone service to cable customers in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Under the co-marketing agreement, customers who get premium cable channels, order pay-per-view movies and online services will get AT&T phone service at a reduced cost. A marketing campaign for the new offers will begin this spring, the companies said.

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INTL: Globalstar Opens New Gateway