CES 2009: Avis Budget To Offer AT&T CruiseCast In Rentals
Satellite TV Service Will Be Available In Rental Cars
By Todd Spangler -- Multichannel News, 1/8/2009 12:10:00 PM
Las Vegas—Avis Budget Group and RaySat Broadcasting announced a deal that will provide Avis and Budget Rent A Car customers with the option of purchasing AT&T CruiseCast satellite TV service in their rental car.
Starting in the second quarter of 2009, Avis and Budget customers will be able to rent AT&T CruiseCast at select locations for $8.95 per day or $62.65 per week. The service, developed and managed by RaySat Broadcasting, provides 22 cable channels and 20 satellite radio channels to a rear-seat entertainment unit.
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Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. Avis Budget Group didn’t say how many vehicles would be outfitted for AT&T CruiseCast, which uses a 3-pound, pod-like antenna affixed to a vehicle’s roof to receive the programming.
AT&T CruiseCast’s current lineup includes Disney Channel, Disney XD, Discovery Kids, Animal Planet, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network Mobile, USA, Comedy Central, MSNBC, CNN Mobile Live and CNBC.
The system is designed to address the difficulty in delivering satellite TV to moving vehicles, by storing a 3-minute buffer of the channel being viewed in the receiver’s static memory. If a car goes into a tunnel or behind some trees, disrupting the satellite signal, the buffered video kicks in.
“Parents and road-warriors alike appreciate ways to make long drives seem shorter,” Avis Budget Group vice president of product and program development Michael Caron said, in a statement. “The AT&T CruiseCast service lets our customers take their favorite channels with them on the road and makes choosing to rent with Avis or Budget easier than changing the channel.”
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