Satellite

Court Docket: Possible Settlement In Voom-Dish Lawsuit

AMC Networks Stock Jumps 4%
By: By Jon Lafayette (Broadcasting & Cable) Oct 18 2012 - 12:57pm
AMC Networks Stock Jumps 4%

A new posting on the court’s docket raises the possibility of a settlement in the case of AMC Network’s Voom high definition programming service against Dish Network.
In a note, Tom Claps, an analyst with Susquehanna Financial Group who has been following the case closely, wrote that “the Court’s docket just posted an entry for Monday, October 22 at 9:30 a.m.—‘Pos. Settlement.’”
Claps said the court is not commenting on this new development.

Voom Litigation Gets Testy

Dish Executive Storms From Court; Trial Adjourns Until Monday
By: Mike Farrell Oct 17 2012 - 3:50pm
Dish Executive Storms From Court; Trial Adjourns Until Monday

After a bizarre day where one Dish executive stormed teary-eyed from the court room, briefly pushing the elderly father of one of the plaintiff’s attorneys and prompting an aborted call for the local constabulary, both sides of the increasingly contentious litigation between Voom HD and the satellite giant are taking a breather.

AMC's 'The Walking Dead’ Takes Bite Out Of Cable Ratings Record

Series' Season-Three Premiere Draws 10.9 Million Viewers
By: R. Thomas Umstead Oct 15 2012 - 4:49pm
Series' Season-Three Premiere Draws 10.9 Million Viewers

Sunday night’s season-three premiere episode of AMC’s zombie-themed series The Walking Dead devoured a ratings record for an ad-supported series.
The series drew 10.9 million viewers with its Oct. 14 season-three debut, according to Nielsen live + same-day data, besting the 9.2 million viewers garnered by a Dec. 4 episode USA’s Monk, according to AMC officials. The viewership was up 50% over its second-season bow.

Pay TV Satisfaction Rises in 2012: J.D. Power

Premium-Tier Subs More Loyal Than Those on Basic or Expanded Basic, According to Survey
By: Todd Spangler Oct 15 2012 - 1:05am
Premium-Tier Subs More Loyal Than Those on Basic or Expanded Basic, According to Survey

U.S. subscription TV customers are slightly happier with their providers than a year ago — although the cable’s poor reputation continues to drag the industry below satellite and telco rivals, according to J.D. Power and Associates’ 2012 residential TV customer-satisfaction study.

Gizmo Download: Sling Adds Some Twists To Place-Shifting Box

By: MCN Staff Oct 15 2012 - 12:00am

The Hype: EchoStar’s Sling Media launched its first new Slingbox hardware since 2008, featuring support for “full HD ” and the ability to fling photos and video to TVs, tablets, PC s and smartphones over the Internet. Both the Slingbox 350 and 500 support up to full 1080p HD -quality streaming of live or recorded TV programming and Ethernet connectivity.

Dish, Gannett Hop Past Skirmish

Ad-Skipping Feature Doesn’t Hold Up Retrans Deal
By: Mike Farrell Oct 15 2012 - 12:00am
Ad-Skipping Feature Doesn’t Hold Up Retrans Deal

Dish Network and Gannett Broadcasting managed to hammer out a retransmission-consent deal last week, despite the satellite-TV giant’s contention that the broadcaster was trying to squelch its controversial Auto Hop ad-skipping technology.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The agreement, reached a few hours after the formal midnight Oct. 7 deadline passed (both sides agreed to a brief extension as talks continued) kept Gannett stations in 19 markets, including Washington, D.C.; Atlanta; Denver; and Phoenix, Ariz., on Dish Network’s service.

DirecTV Uncorks Five-Tuner Genie DVR

Multiroom DVR Can Auto-Record Recommended Shows
By: Todd Spangler Oct 11 2012 - 4:50pm
Multiroom DVR Can Auto-Record Recommended Shows

DirecTV has named its multiroom HD DVR -- which can record up to five TV channels at the same time -- the “Genie,” adding an automatic-recommendation feature that records shows based on subscribers’ tastes.

The No. 1 satellite operator is positioning the Genie’s five tuners and recommendation features as besting Dish Network’s three-tuner Hopper DVR. However, DirecTV’s box lacks the latter’s controversial automatic ad-skipping feature. In addition, while Genie includes 1 Terabyte of storage, the Hopper has 2 TB.

Dish, Gannett Hop to Retrans Accord

Deal Involves 19 Stations
By: Mike Farrell Oct 8 2012 - 10:34am
Deal Involves 19 Stations

Dish Network and Gannett Broadcasting said Monday that they have reached a retransmission consent deal regarding Gannett’s 19 broadcast stations across the country. Terms were not disclosed.
The deal comes after the two sides agreed early Monday morning to briefly extend their negotiations as they tried to hammer out a deal.

19 Gannett Stations Could Go Dark on Dish Sunday

Fees, Ad Skipping Main Points of Negotiations
By: Mike Farrell Oct 5 2012 - 12:28pm
Fees, Ad Skipping Main Points of Negotiations

In a bit of a twist to the usual retransmission-consent battle rhetoric, Dish Network and Gannett Broadcasting appear to be sharpening their knives over an issue other than money: ad skipping.
Dish fired the first salvo on Friday, claiming that Gannett has threatened to pull its 19 broadcast stations from Dish subscribers on Oct. 7 if the satellite giant it does not succumb to its demands.

Ergen: We May Have to Sell Wireless Spectrum

But Dish Chairmam Calls it Growth Business; Labels video 'Mature,' 'Very Competitive'
By: John Eggerton Oct 3 2012 - 7:14pm
But Dish Chairmam Calls it Growth Business; Labels video 'Mature,' 'Very Competitive'

Dish Network chairman Charlie Ergen is urging the government to OK his company's wireless broadband play so he can try to replicate his satellite success in that growth market.

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