EchoStar Chief Says Satellite Deal Will Move Forward

**James Long** · 03-17-2005 07:52 PM

Originally Posted by GreatMac

As it is, we don't know the terms, so there is no point to speculate.

Originally Posted by mdonnelly

Since we don't know the terms, we can do nothing BUT speculate.

Have you bothered to read the agreement? Or are YOU both just speculating on what is or isn't there?

JL

**bruce** · 03-17-2005 08:03 PM

Originally Posted by gutter

Bruce this is not a flame but a question. I read the Charlie Chat and I did not read that he said an deliberate and emphatic no to VOOM programming. What I read was he said that the deal was only for the bird and that his desire was to put HD on that bird once he owns it. (Hard to tell with all the ummm and Huhs in his song and dance."

Sincerly, Can you quote from the Chat that VOOM HD or any original programming he said no too? I will have to admit, I may have missed or misread it a few days ago.

Thanks

Charles Ergen - CEO Dish Network on Charlie Chat

We did enter into an agreement with Cablevision on the "Voom" satellite to aquire that satellite at the 61 and 1/2 degree location. We already have a satellite there ourselves as well. We also aquired capacity there.

We did not aquire the Voom programing assets, they have about 21 channels of of high definition television - we did not aquire that, and they have indicated that they may continue to broadcast at a different location or something.

We certainly hope from a HDTV perspective that we have more HDTV than any cable company or any available satellite. We view it as the wave of the future, there are so many things with the DVR and the UHF remote controls and the two tuners in a box we have been a leader, and we will also be a leader in HDTV.

Stand by to more Charlie Chats, and (we won't get into a lot of details here but) we're going to wait on new satellites that we have in process, we have to wait on MPEG-4 technology which is a technology we are testing today - but the product isn't out until late this fall.

Jim interjects: "And that's how it relates to any real volume of HD programming, is there a chance that we will have anything before the fall?

We may add a few channels before this fall - The industry is still evolving, I saw where Starz! is going to take down their HDTV movie channel "Encore" - I don't believe we put that one up, now they are going to take it down - so we didn't confuse people with that. There are a lot of people who are going to enter the HDTV programming business, a lot of it is going to be late this year - a lot of it next year.

I can only say that if you like HDTV and you are a Dish Network subscriber I think that you are going to like a lot of the things that we do. We put those plans in place to be able to do that. We are just not ready to announce every single thing we are going to do there until we are ready. There will probably be a Charlie Chat several months from now when we do that.

And again, if Charlie was going to add more HD, why Voom instead of Universal-HD or ESPN 2 or even InHD and of course the premium movie channels.

**James Long** · 03-17-2005 08:09 PM

Charles Ergen - CEO Dish Network on Charlie Chat

We did enter into an agreement with Cablevision on the "Voom" satellite to aquire that satellite at the 61 and 1/2 degree location. We already have a satellite there ourselves as well. We also aquired capacity there.

We did not aquire the Voom programing assets, they have about 21 channels of of high definition television - we did not aquire that, and they have indicated that they may continue to broadcast at a different location or something.

We certainly hope from a HDTV perspective that we have more HDTV than any cable company or any available satellite. We view it as the wave of the future, there are so many things with the DVR and the UHF remote controls and the two tuners in a box we have been a leader, and we will also be a leader in HDTV.

Stand by to more Charlie Chats, and (we won't get into a lot of details here but) we're going to wait on new satellites that we have in process, we have to wait on MPEG-4 technology which is a technology we are testing today - but the product isn't out until late this fall.

Jim interjects: "And that's how it relates to any real volume of HD programming, is there a chance that we will have anything before the fall?

We may add a few channels before this fall - The industry is still evolving, I saw where Starz! is going to take down their HDTV movie channel "Encore" - I don't believe we put that one up, now they are going to take it down - so we didn't confuse people with that. There are a lot of people who are going to enter the HDTV programming business, a lot of it is going to be late this year - a lot of it next year.

I can only say that if you like HDTV and you are a Dish Network subscriber I think that you are going to like a lot of the things that we do. We put those plans in place to be able to do that. We are just not ready to announce every single thing we are going to do there until we are ready. There will probably be a Charlie Chat several months from now when we do that.

I wonder who took the time to type all of that?

Credit would be nice ...

BTW: This thread was about comments Charlie made in the earnings conference call, which was after the Chat. But that quote does support the idea that Charlie doesn't want Voom, just give him the bird!

JL

**BFG** · 03-17-2005 08:10 PM

**gutter** · 03-17-2005 08:12 PM

Originally Posted by bruce

And again, if Charlie was going to add more HD, why Voom instead of Universal-HD or ESPN 2 or even InHD and of course the premium movie channels.

Thanks Bruce...It is what I read. Again there was a lot of dance but he didn't actually come out and say emphatically "NO VOOM Programing." He may have meant it but I have a feeling as a successful business person he chooses his words wisely. At least he didn't come out the way Malone said that he would not invest his own money. Now that is very emphatic and leaves no doubt.

**riffjim4069** · 03-17-2005 08:19 PM

Eyes getting heavy...can't...stay...awake

Sorry, but if this thread reminds me of a Nascar race...it goes around in circles and, in the end, it's right back where it started. Seems to me everyone has been saying ye same ole thing the past 6 weeks. Wake me when there is some real news. Ok, back to sleep now...

**James Long** · 03-17-2005 08:21 PM

Originally Posted by gutter

He may have meant it but I have a feeling as a successful business person he chooses his words wisely.

Those were wisely chosen words? Wow.

Charlie seems down to earth. Wealthy but not elite. As noted in the E* thread where that comment was posted, he probably should have said less about it. That would have been more wise use of words.

But he said what he said, and he said more in the earnings call. He's seems very open to me.

JL

**James Long** · 03-17-2005 08:23 PM

Originally Posted by riffjim4069

Wake me when there is some real news. Ok, back to sleep now...

Yep. No real news except another reminder that Voom is in trouble and despite the popularity amongst customers, C & T Dolan don't seem to be lining up a lot of support as they approach the next "deadline".

JL

**1080iBeVuMin** · 03-17-2005 08:28 PM

If the satellite sale goes through, that means Chuck Dolan not only has to rescue Voom with truckloads of cash, and expand the HD and SD channels to attract more Voomers, and get out the DVR to attract more Voomers, he also has to pay for the complete replacement of 40,000 dishes for Rainbow 2 within the next 3 or 4 months -- before Voom programming ends on Rainbow 1.

I am really hoping Dolan finds enough billionaires out there like himself who believe that such an enormous

investment will pay off handsomely in the end. It is getting to be a very tall order.

**bruce** · 03-17-2005 08:29 PM

Originally Posted by justalurker

I wonder who took the time to type all of that?

Credit would be nice ...

BTW: This thread was about comments Charlie made in the earnings conference call, which was after the Chat. But that quote does support the idea that Charlie doesn't want Voom, just give him the bird!

JL

I just can't take you man, you are just a smug *******, with so much ego you must be compensating for wearing tightie whities or something.
In reading a few of your posts responding to Sean Mota over at the E* forums and I am amazed at the dis-respect you had, answering him in your posts, this nah nah attitude that E* makes a profit and V* does not, he could have banned your ass a while ago but he seems to be the better person, maybe as you sit at your computer snarfing down your second box of Little Debbie Nutty Bars, you will think about why so many people here have such a negative feeling about you.

Originally Posted by Sean Mota
Not going to hear from me about it once more. But I will be here in the Fall of 2005 and if there's no light at the end of tunel and E* failed to deliver once more, I will laugh out loud in a corner.

Originally Posted by justalurker

Feel free to come back and laugh really loud at the end of December. If there are any real new program provider entrants into HD and E* doesn't get caught up and in position to lead your laughter will be especially valid.

Then again, I wonder if E* will make 12 million or 13 million subs by the end of the year.

JL

Originally Posted by Sean Mota
In other words, if you buy and HDTV or you own an HDTV, go somewhere else to get HD (DirecTv, Cable, VOOM or elsewhere) if you want it.

Originally Posted by justalurker

If you are going to be snotty about it, let me put it this way ...
If you want to subscribe to a service that is time tested and will be available to customers at the end of April the "somewhere else" will be a smaller list. E* will be there in December. Perhaps they will (finally) get their HD going, perhaps not. But at least E* won't be a memory.

That is a prediction. I could be wrong, but I don't think so.

JL