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As chairman and chief executive of Fox Sports Television Group, David Hill has thrown the industry a few curveballs.
He gave the hockey puck a neon glow so viewers could see it better on the TV screen. Then, he made first-down lines yellow in pro football games. Perhaps his biggest consumer-friendly innovation is the "Fox box" — now a fixture across TV sports — an on-screen reminder of the score and the time remaining.
Now the 59-year-old maverick Australian is bringing his flair for invention to another News Corp. property — DirecTV. Today, the nation's leading satellite TV provider will unveil Hill's first big bet: a weekly, one-hour live-music program that will be available exclusively to DirecTV's 15 million subscribers.
A spinoff of a top-rated British program, "CD USA" will feature interviews, behind-the-scenes reports and performances by as many as seven bands per episode, including big-name acts such as the Goo Goo Dolls, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Linkin Park.
"MTV has moved away from music. The only time you see live performances nowadays is in the Grammys," said Hill, who last year was dispatched to shake things up at DirecTV by his boss, News Corp. chief Rupert Murdoch. With the new Saturday show, Hill said, he seeks to do more than fill "a glaring hole in our lineup."
"The hope is that it sparks a schoolyard conversation on Monday morning," he said, "and that little Suzy comes home and tells her mom that unless she has it, she'll be a social pariah."
"CD USA" and other new offerings in the coming months represent the first major consumer initiatives by DirecTV since Murdoch took control two years ago. They also mark the El Segundo-based satellite TV provider's entry into production at a time of intensifying competition with cable TV operators.
By March, DirecTV expects to add two more programs: a dating service that Hill describes as a "shopping mall for singles," and "The Massive Gaming League," which will feature video game tournaments.
"This is going to be the next big thing in sports," predicted Hill, pointing to the popularity of such face-offs in Japan.
The programming initiatives, which will be supported by advertising, provide a glimpse of Murdoch's plans for squeezing value out of News Corp.'s recent $1.6-billion investment in the Internet.
Hill said programs would target the Apple iPod generation that he refers to as "boomer shadows." These 80 million or so offspring of baby boomers, who are ages 10 to 29, "are going to rule the world of public opinion," Hill said. "These teenagers have more disposable income than ever before."
Although teenagers are a fickle, hard-to-reach group, Hill says promotional tie-ins on News Corp.'s Web properties will help drive them to DirecTV Channel 101, where the original programming will run.
For instance, he said, members of News Corp.'s MySpace.com, a social networking site popular among teenagers, will vote on which of the more than 200,000 bands that post music on the website should perform on "CD USA" that week.
Similarly, there will be a yet-to-be-determined tie-in between the Massive Gaming League and IGN, a video game site bought by News Corp. last year.
"As his strategy unfolds, we'll work with him," Ross Levinsohn, president of Fox Interactive Media, said of Hill. Cooperation will come easily, Levinsohn said, since he previously worked with many members of Hill's DirectTV team when they all were at Fox Sports.
"David has Rupert's ear. He's one of Rupert's go-to guys," said Levinsohn, who previously ran Fox Sports' new-media ventures. "He's fearless. He's passionate. He's fun to be around. He goes a mile a second. Some people think outside the box. David thinks outside the universe."
Hill's entrepreneurial zeal, a hallmark of Fox and News Corp., came as a culture shock to many DirecTV employees. Under the company's previous owner, General Motors Corp., the environment was slower-paced, hierarchical and bureaucratic.
By contrast, the News Corp. style is to push authority down the ranks. Employees sink or swim. Decision-making can be rapid fire and strategic directions can shift overnight.
DirecTV insiders said they learned quickly that Hill would not tolerate being told "no."
Impatient for change, Hill brought in a new marketing team to emphasize the television experience rather than simply the technical wizardry that the engineers who had launched the service in 1994 had stressed.
He tinkered with the scripts read by customer service representatives, vowing to make the experience of calling DirecTV more conversational.
Then he started fiddling with DirecTV's programming. For hard-core football fans, he added to DirecTV's signature "NFL Sunday Ticket" package of games by offering several extras. For an additional fee, subscribers can get a channel of highlights from all eight games across the league, two channels that allow them to switch back and forth among the games, and a channel that gives them a shortcut through the games without commercials.
"Everything he touches is successful," said Steve Bornstein, president of the NFL Network and former head of Walt Disney Co.'s ESPN. "He has a unique perception of what fans want and then goes about creating it."
DirecTV insiders say Hill has begun to re-energize the troops after a period of high turnover and low morale. Most of DirecTV's top management has been replaced since Murdoch took charge and installed a new team led by television veteran Chase Carey as chairman.
Some early miscalculations contributed to the turmoil, according to analysts and former DirecTV executives. A plan by Murdoch to move DirecTV's headquarters to New York created distress in the ranks before it was scrapped. Murdoch's choice as DirecTV president, Mitch Stern, fueled subscriber growth. But he was ousted after about 15 months because of repeated clashes with Carey.
Hill's new slate of programming comes at a time of change throughout the industry.
In recent months, both cable and satellite TV providers have sought to differentiate themselves by unveiling exclusive features and programming. For example, customers of both services will soon be able to order network series such as CBS' "Survivor" and NBC's "The Office" on a per-episode basis. On Wednesday, as Comcast Corp. and Time Warner Inc.'s cable unit launched a new exercise channel on each of their video-on-demand services, DirecTV took the wraps off a special package of family channels, following a similar move by the cable industry last month in response to political pressures.
But particularly because Murdoch owns television channels and networks, a movie studio and satellite operations worldwide, analysts had expected many more dramatic changes by now.
Not surprisingly, cable operators scoffed Thursday when told of DirecTV's original programs.
"The concepts don't sound ground-breaking," said Fred Dressler, a top executive at Time Warner Cable, noting that concert series were available online and that Comcast already had a dating service available on video on demand. "Sounds like a weak response to cable's video-on-demand offerings."
Some analysts are also skeptical that DirecTV can break through the clutter.
"DirecTV is taking baby steps to becoming a mini-HBO," said Craig Moffett, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. "But with only 15 million subscribers, it will be hard to justify the kinds of investments that attract top talent or generate sufficient buzz to attract non-subscribers to DirecTV."
Hill would not discuss his programming budgets but acknowledged that he was spending heavily on the new initiatives.
"It's bloody expensive," he said of the live-music program, which has three hosts and an elaborate set with multiple staging areas in Los Angeles.
Hill doesn't seem worried. Happiest calling the shots in the production truck at a football game, he'll be in Seattle this Sunday producing the National Football Conference championship game.
Probably the only person alive who has run a network sports division in three countries, Hill ran the sports division of Australia's Nine Network before being tapped in 1988 by Murdoch to start Sky Television, Britain's first satellite TV service. By 1991, Hill had launched Britain's only dedicated sports channel, Sky Sports.
Two years later, he joined Fox Broadcasting as president of Fox Sports, which changed the power structure of network TV by snaring rights to the coveted NFL games from CBS.
In the late 1990s, Hill spent several years overseeing the Fox broadcast network but found the phoniness in Hollywood hard to take.
To create "CD USA," Hill turned to an old friend and seasoned music producer. Conor McAnally, an executive at Blaze Television, has produced "CD UK" for six years, turning it into one of Britain's top-rated programs. Hill's daughter Jane works for McAnally as a producer on the show.
Everyone agrees that scheduling as many as seven acts a week for "CD USA" will be a bear.
"Not a lot of people do live stuff because it's hard," said Tom Calderone, general manager of Viacom Inc.'s VH1 channel. "You need the right relationships, you need to be sensitive to artists' needs. The scheduling and remixing can be complicated."
McAnally acknowledged that the project was challenging. He is betting the show will benefit logistically and financially from the fact that "CD UK" has worked out many of the kinks.
"You couldn't start a show like this from scratch today," he said.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-...coll=la-headlines-business&ctrack=1&cset=true
He gave the hockey puck a neon glow so viewers could see it better on the TV screen. Then, he made first-down lines yellow in pro football games. Perhaps his biggest consumer-friendly innovation is the "Fox box" — now a fixture across TV sports — an on-screen reminder of the score and the time remaining.
Now the 59-year-old maverick Australian is bringing his flair for invention to another News Corp. property — DirecTV. Today, the nation's leading satellite TV provider will unveil Hill's first big bet: a weekly, one-hour live-music program that will be available exclusively to DirecTV's 15 million subscribers.
A spinoff of a top-rated British program, "CD USA" will feature interviews, behind-the-scenes reports and performances by as many as seven bands per episode, including big-name acts such as the Goo Goo Dolls, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Linkin Park.
"MTV has moved away from music. The only time you see live performances nowadays is in the Grammys," said Hill, who last year was dispatched to shake things up at DirecTV by his boss, News Corp. chief Rupert Murdoch. With the new Saturday show, Hill said, he seeks to do more than fill "a glaring hole in our lineup."
"The hope is that it sparks a schoolyard conversation on Monday morning," he said, "and that little Suzy comes home and tells her mom that unless she has it, she'll be a social pariah."
"CD USA" and other new offerings in the coming months represent the first major consumer initiatives by DirecTV since Murdoch took control two years ago. They also mark the El Segundo-based satellite TV provider's entry into production at a time of intensifying competition with cable TV operators.
By March, DirecTV expects to add two more programs: a dating service that Hill describes as a "shopping mall for singles," and "The Massive Gaming League," which will feature video game tournaments.
"This is going to be the next big thing in sports," predicted Hill, pointing to the popularity of such face-offs in Japan.
The programming initiatives, which will be supported by advertising, provide a glimpse of Murdoch's plans for squeezing value out of News Corp.'s recent $1.6-billion investment in the Internet.
Hill said programs would target the Apple iPod generation that he refers to as "boomer shadows." These 80 million or so offspring of baby boomers, who are ages 10 to 29, "are going to rule the world of public opinion," Hill said. "These teenagers have more disposable income than ever before."
Although teenagers are a fickle, hard-to-reach group, Hill says promotional tie-ins on News Corp.'s Web properties will help drive them to DirecTV Channel 101, where the original programming will run.
For instance, he said, members of News Corp.'s MySpace.com, a social networking site popular among teenagers, will vote on which of the more than 200,000 bands that post music on the website should perform on "CD USA" that week.
Similarly, there will be a yet-to-be-determined tie-in between the Massive Gaming League and IGN, a video game site bought by News Corp. last year.
"As his strategy unfolds, we'll work with him," Ross Levinsohn, president of Fox Interactive Media, said of Hill. Cooperation will come easily, Levinsohn said, since he previously worked with many members of Hill's DirectTV team when they all were at Fox Sports.
"David has Rupert's ear. He's one of Rupert's go-to guys," said Levinsohn, who previously ran Fox Sports' new-media ventures. "He's fearless. He's passionate. He's fun to be around. He goes a mile a second. Some people think outside the box. David thinks outside the universe."
Hill's entrepreneurial zeal, a hallmark of Fox and News Corp., came as a culture shock to many DirecTV employees. Under the company's previous owner, General Motors Corp., the environment was slower-paced, hierarchical and bureaucratic.
By contrast, the News Corp. style is to push authority down the ranks. Employees sink or swim. Decision-making can be rapid fire and strategic directions can shift overnight.
DirecTV insiders said they learned quickly that Hill would not tolerate being told "no."
Impatient for change, Hill brought in a new marketing team to emphasize the television experience rather than simply the technical wizardry that the engineers who had launched the service in 1994 had stressed.
He tinkered with the scripts read by customer service representatives, vowing to make the experience of calling DirecTV more conversational.
Then he started fiddling with DirecTV's programming. For hard-core football fans, he added to DirecTV's signature "NFL Sunday Ticket" package of games by offering several extras. For an additional fee, subscribers can get a channel of highlights from all eight games across the league, two channels that allow them to switch back and forth among the games, and a channel that gives them a shortcut through the games without commercials.
"Everything he touches is successful," said Steve Bornstein, president of the NFL Network and former head of Walt Disney Co.'s ESPN. "He has a unique perception of what fans want and then goes about creating it."
DirecTV insiders say Hill has begun to re-energize the troops after a period of high turnover and low morale. Most of DirecTV's top management has been replaced since Murdoch took charge and installed a new team led by television veteran Chase Carey as chairman.
Some early miscalculations contributed to the turmoil, according to analysts and former DirecTV executives. A plan by Murdoch to move DirecTV's headquarters to New York created distress in the ranks before it was scrapped. Murdoch's choice as DirecTV president, Mitch Stern, fueled subscriber growth. But he was ousted after about 15 months because of repeated clashes with Carey.
Hill's new slate of programming comes at a time of change throughout the industry.
In recent months, both cable and satellite TV providers have sought to differentiate themselves by unveiling exclusive features and programming. For example, customers of both services will soon be able to order network series such as CBS' "Survivor" and NBC's "The Office" on a per-episode basis. On Wednesday, as Comcast Corp. and Time Warner Inc.'s cable unit launched a new exercise channel on each of their video-on-demand services, DirecTV took the wraps off a special package of family channels, following a similar move by the cable industry last month in response to political pressures.
But particularly because Murdoch owns television channels and networks, a movie studio and satellite operations worldwide, analysts had expected many more dramatic changes by now.
Not surprisingly, cable operators scoffed Thursday when told of DirecTV's original programs.
"The concepts don't sound ground-breaking," said Fred Dressler, a top executive at Time Warner Cable, noting that concert series were available online and that Comcast already had a dating service available on video on demand. "Sounds like a weak response to cable's video-on-demand offerings."
Some analysts are also skeptical that DirecTV can break through the clutter.
"DirecTV is taking baby steps to becoming a mini-HBO," said Craig Moffett, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. "But with only 15 million subscribers, it will be hard to justify the kinds of investments that attract top talent or generate sufficient buzz to attract non-subscribers to DirecTV."
Hill would not discuss his programming budgets but acknowledged that he was spending heavily on the new initiatives.
"It's bloody expensive," he said of the live-music program, which has three hosts and an elaborate set with multiple staging areas in Los Angeles.
Hill doesn't seem worried. Happiest calling the shots in the production truck at a football game, he'll be in Seattle this Sunday producing the National Football Conference championship game.
Probably the only person alive who has run a network sports division in three countries, Hill ran the sports division of Australia's Nine Network before being tapped in 1988 by Murdoch to start Sky Television, Britain's first satellite TV service. By 1991, Hill had launched Britain's only dedicated sports channel, Sky Sports.
Two years later, he joined Fox Broadcasting as president of Fox Sports, which changed the power structure of network TV by snaring rights to the coveted NFL games from CBS.
In the late 1990s, Hill spent several years overseeing the Fox broadcast network but found the phoniness in Hollywood hard to take.
To create "CD USA," Hill turned to an old friend and seasoned music producer. Conor McAnally, an executive at Blaze Television, has produced "CD UK" for six years, turning it into one of Britain's top-rated programs. Hill's daughter Jane works for McAnally as a producer on the show.
Everyone agrees that scheduling as many as seven acts a week for "CD USA" will be a bear.
"Not a lot of people do live stuff because it's hard," said Tom Calderone, general manager of Viacom Inc.'s VH1 channel. "You need the right relationships, you need to be sensitive to artists' needs. The scheduling and remixing can be complicated."
McAnally acknowledged that the project was challenging. He is betting the show will benefit logistically and financially from the fact that "CD UK" has worked out many of the kinks.
"You couldn't start a show like this from scratch today," he said.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-...coll=la-headlines-business&ctrack=1&cset=true
13 Replies
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2712 views
Lifetime Supporter
I know HipKat said that they were working on conversions but we got the official news yesterday right from Dish that starting next month all DMA's will be on the western arc, and all customers will be assigned to that. That's gonna mean a lot of customers around here aren't gonna get Dish unless there are exceptions. Too many mountains and trees.
148 Replies
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3790 views
Pub Member / Supporter
Lifetime Supporter
I'm surprised Walmart hasn't banned this guy from all of their stores. He has been on their CASE the past few months.
View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/f3zr37ekgKM?feature=share
View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/f3zr37ekgKM?feature=share
50 Replies
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451 views
Unless the specific product or its packaging is known at the time of weighing, estimating the tare weight for a PoS system is a tall order.
I'm pretty sure that produce bags can't get any thinner.
You certainly don't want to put unbagged produce on a belt, scale, or in a clerk's hands (gloved or not).
I would think that all the packaging would already be accounted for ... they weigh the container, subtract that from the scale, then add the product , so its weighing the Product onlyUnless the specific product or its packaging is known at the time of weighing, estimating the tare weight for a PoS system is a tall order.
I'm pretty sure that produce bags can't get any thinner.
You certainly don't want to put unbagged produce on a belt, scale, or in a clerk's hands (gloved or not).
Why are ViP922s So rare? like its crazy how ebay has none, i checked everywhere, also, i got a ViP222k now, which is actually activated!
33 Replies
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928 views
I remember this in the news too...
www.nbcnews.com
$14,000 spent on rented rotary phone
A widow rented a rotary dial telephone for 42 years, paying what her family calculates as more than $14,000 for a now- outdated phone.
www.nbcnews.com
That is a misnomer. In the old days you subscribed to telephone service. That included the telephone line and one telephone. An extension cost $1 a month extra. So that $14,000 over 42 years was for the service not the leased telephone. There is no way they paid $28 a month for 42 years for a leased telephone.I remember this in the news too...
$14,000 spent on rented rotary phone
A widow rented a rotary dial telephone for 42 years, paying what her family calculates as more than $14,000 for a now- outdated phone.
Staff member
HERE TO HELP YOU!
Cutting Edge
Sometimes a thread gets so many posts in it that is can cause issues for the server so that why today we introduce The Song Name Game Part 3!
So let the game continue!
The last song was added by Bobby who posted...
One Meat Ball - Andrews Sisters
CONTINUE ON AND HAVE FUN! WELCOME HOME TO SATELLITEGUYS.US!
Here are the original rules for the game as posted by WebbyDude back in 2006. http://www.satelliteguys.us/threads/68645-Song-Name-Game
Just name a song title and the band who performed it. The next person does the same thing, but needs to list a song title or band name which includes a word from the previous entry. Pick songs from any genre.
Example:
Long Live Rock and Roll -- Rainbow
Rainbow in the Dark -- Dio
Another example:
Ride the Lightning -- Metallica
Lightning Strikes -- Ozzy Osbourne
Get it?
An additional note: we all know that song titles, sometimes, use profane words. Because this is a family friendly website it is advised that you clean up that title up a bit. This is accomplished by using something like sh!t instead of the real word. Thanks....
So let the game continue!
The last song was added by Bobby who posted...
One Meat Ball - Andrews Sisters
CONTINUE ON AND HAVE FUN! WELCOME HOME TO SATELLITEGUYS.US!
Here are the original rules for the game as posted by WebbyDude back in 2006. http://www.satelliteguys.us/threads/68645-Song-Name-Game
Just name a song title and the band who performed it. The next person does the same thing, but needs to list a song title or band name which includes a word from the previous entry. Pick songs from any genre.
Example:
Long Live Rock and Roll -- Rainbow
Rainbow in the Dark -- Dio
Another example:
Ride the Lightning -- Metallica
Lightning Strikes -- Ozzy Osbourne
Get it?
An additional note: we all know that song titles, sometimes, use profane words. Because this is a family friendly website it is advised that you clean up that title up a bit. This is accomplished by using something like sh!t instead of the real word. Thanks....
68588 Replies
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2676592 views
TWiT Tech Podcast Network
Time for another AWESOME video from the TWIT Network!
View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/kBKUeLHP3zY
Direct YouTube Link - Foursquare's Hidden Location Data Became a Game #shorts
TWIT's Website
TWIT Live Feed
View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/kBKUeLHP3zY
Direct YouTube Link - Foursquare's Hidden Location Data Became a Game #shorts
TWIT's Website
TWIT Live Feed
0 Replies
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5 views
Hi guys, is anyone getting any quality on transponder 4135 L 30000 I'm not getting any quality few weeks now.
0 Replies
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16 views
Staff member
Pub Member / Supporter
Cutting Edge
In order to participate in any Cutting Edge testing, you must sign a Non Disclosure Agreement (NDA). Attached are a .docx (Microsoft Word) and PDF version of the latest DirecTV NDA. I found it easiest to complete the .docx version then paste a photo or scan image of my signature, cropped closely to just the signature into it as a picture. Then set Word to wrap text around the picture so that the picture follows the text "Signature".
People who have better PDF tools than I do may prefer that version.
When you apply for any Cutting Edge testing, you will be told how to send the signed copy.
People who have better PDF tools than I do may prefer that version.
When you apply for any Cutting Edge testing, you will be told how to send the signed copy.
2 Replies
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81 views
TWiT Tech Podcast Network
Time for another AWESOME video from the TWIT Network!
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXOU5kJ8crU
Direct YouTube Link - Artemis III
TWIT's Website
TWIT Live Feed
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXOU5kJ8crU
Direct YouTube Link - Artemis III
TWIT's Website
TWIT Live Feed
0 Replies
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10 views
Staff member
Pub Member / Supporter
Cutting Edge
The TPN Map Excel Presents all DIRECTV Channels:
Understanding the TPN Map
Making Sense of the TPN Map Display Conventions
National (50-States or wide/NAT+PR beams)
Local (Local-Into-Local or narrow/Spot beams)
Local (Local-Into-Local or narrow/Spot beams)
Additional tabs provide:
OTA the (Over-The-Air) Database
VOD (Video On_Demand) Records
Offline Records
Engr Records
Net Decoder a graphic presentation of all satellites and transponders
VOD (Video On_Demand) Records
Offline Records
Engr Records
Net Decoder a graphic presentation of all satellites and transponders
Domestic Satellites
@99W...... D11, D14
@101W.... D16
@103W.... D12, D15
@110W.... D5
@119W.... D8
@99W...... D11, D14
@101W.... D16
@103W.... D12, D15
@110W.... D5
@119W.... D8
Understanding the TPN Map
Making Sense of the TPN Map Display Conventions
2164 Replies
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937463 views