- Nov 29, 2003
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But what about the auction going on at the FCC right now for the wireless spectrum that both Charlie(south.com) and Dolan(DTV Norwich)are bidding for,sounds like both are making plans for the future not a merger.
SatelliteGuys Rumor Central
- Thread starter Scott Greczkowski
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When you are in acquisition mode you should still keep planing for the future just incase the merger does not go through.
If Echostar did aquire VOOM it would make the company more valuable to possible buyers.
If Echostar did aquire VOOM it would make the company more valuable to possible buyers.
Scott I have been wondering about a sale for the last few months myself. When Charlie sold a $500 million share in the Company to SBC that was different for him, the only other time he has accepted an investment was with Murdock. Recently DISH has made changes that will show up on the bottom line of a Corporation that is maturing. The $4 increase in the extended warranty will provide more income, mandating the local channels in packages definitely increases the bottom line. To quote the new promotional brochures for FREE DISH AT-60 "If you don't qualify for local channels your pricing for America's Top 60 will be $24.99/Mo." same statement with different pricing for AT-120 & AT-180. This statement does not seem to make it optional you only get the lower price where you don't qualify for locals. Even though this is a $1 savings off the $5.99 price of locals you get to multiply it by probably 7-8 million subscribers as people change programming packages. Adding a promotion like DHA with no commitments by the retail customers will increase activity which has become poor for DISH compared to DirecTV. Extending the DEALERS charge back period from 230 days to 360 days has the effect of cancelling that liability, now instead of the customer guarantying the system with a 1Yr. commitment they will be able to charge the dealer for 360 days and they can just deduct from the dealers commission payment so for investors it looks even more secure. I believe Charlie is tired of competing and looking to bail out with some actual money instead of just stock value.
Customers are only going to take so many moves before they either tell Dish to shut them off so they can get on DirecTv or cable for their HD or tell them to put the dish up and if someone comes out to upgrade to leave the old dish where its at in case they make a change back to it in the future. Switching customers from 61.5 to 110 did not cost Dish nearly as much as upgrading people to 61.5 that didnt have the dish there already.
Scott Greczkowski said:
What about raising cash by selling E*'s 61.5 transponders to V*? V* desperately needs capacity, E* needs cash to fight off Rupert, and E* has capacity on the Superdish slots if he wants to shuffle things around.
Stargazer said:
bingo. you hit it on the head. if you're going to put HD on the "core" satellites, it had better stay there. Moving from wing to wing to superdish wing isn't a biggie. Moving from 110/119 (which everyone has) to anywhere else (which most DON'T have) is a problem. Remember, "critical mass" for HD will only come with higher ratings and subscribers. Yes, ye olde HD people might have 5 dishes up, etc, but we need to reach out to Joe six-pack if we want more HD.
SuperDish should be called SuperFLOP.
Dish is getting a lot of complaints about the SuperDISH becuase of its size and because of the fact its not as easily mountable as a Dish 500.
There are a lot of Dish Network customers with Dishes pointed at 61.5 already. Its an easy upgrade path.
Dish is getting a lot of complaints about the SuperDISH becuase of its size and because of the fact its not as easily mountable as a Dish 500.
There are a lot of Dish Network customers with Dishes pointed at 61.5 already. Its an easy upgrade path.
hancox,
I'm curious why it's so hard to comprehend that the the vast majority of HD customers already have the dish at one (or both) of the wings.
For those that are going to be "new" HD customers, if they have must carry on the wings, they would require the dish anyway. For those that aren't, which IMO is small, the cost of subscribing to the HD pack should also cover the cost of a Dish assuming a 1-2 year commitment requirement.
I suspect that < 2% of the HD population on E* is missing a dish pointed to one of the wings.
Does anyone have some hard numbers?
Until the new Sat is up at 105, I don't see it as being a viable spot for HD subscribers.
Cheers,
I'm curious why it's so hard to comprehend that the the vast majority of HD customers already have the dish at one (or both) of the wings.
For those that are going to be "new" HD customers, if they have must carry on the wings, they would require the dish anyway. For those that aren't, which IMO is small, the cost of subscribing to the HD pack should also cover the cost of a Dish assuming a 1-2 year commitment requirement.
I suspect that < 2% of the HD population on E* is missing a dish pointed to one of the wings.
Does anyone have some hard numbers?
Until the new Sat is up at 105, I don't see it as being a viable spot for HD subscribers.
Cheers,
It costs too much to ship and install compared to the other satellites. Its better than doing without the locals here so people deal with it to get them. When DirecTv gets their smaller dish out I expect people to get it instead since it is smaller, cheaper, and easier to setup, and cheaper shipping.
I think if they put HD on a core satellite slot they should keep it there or keep it on the wings, and not keep switching it all the time. A decision and long-term goal for those channels and their location needs to be done. Perhaps they plan on putting a number of HD channels up on 110 but may put extra ones at 61.5 that would require consumers to get the extra dish to get the rest of them.
I think if they put HD on a core satellite slot they should keep it there or keep it on the wings, and not keep switching it all the time. A decision and long-term goal for those channels and their location needs to be done. Perhaps they plan on putting a number of HD channels up on 110 but may put extra ones at 61.5 that would require consumers to get the extra dish to get the rest of them.
John Kotches said:
Well, it's obviously just as hard to read my post, then.
"Remember, "critical mass" for HD will only come with higher ratings and subscribers"
That would mean new subscribers, ones with no dish currently, or one with SD only, which probably has something around a 2% number for people whom DO have a 2nd dish.
And the 2% for HD people - you're nuts. The 811 has been outpacing production the whole time, and seeing as almost nobody gets CBS-HD - that's a ton of now existing subscribers with only one dish.
hancox,
Except neither you nor I know what the production numbers are for 811. If the production is measured in 100s of units a week, that isn't much. Perhaps Scott could ping his source and see if the info on this flows.
BTW, CBS O&O covers a decent chunk of the US, as they own stations in at least the top 3 markets and a number of others. Heck, the Top 3 market areas covers ~ 10 % of the US population.
Cheers,
Except neither you nor I know what the production numbers are for 811. If the production is measured in 100s of units a week, that isn't much. Perhaps Scott could ping his source and see if the info on this flows.
BTW, CBS O&O covers a decent chunk of the US, as they own stations in at least the top 3 markets and a number of others. Heck, the Top 3 market areas covers ~ 10 % of the US population.
Cheers,
and that also would be subject to being in only one of those markets. The same dish site gives a Washington DC vs Baltimore example, and the need for a waver.
I've got a great idea for a new PC game that you guys would eat up. It called "Satellite Tycoon"! But you need to be careful, when you play against Charlie. You'll neeed to be able to read his "Poker Face" to win!
Thanks Iceberg, I knew it was substantial, but didn't know it was that large 
I went with what I was sure of!
Cheers,
I went with what I was sure of!Cheers,
MikeD-C05 said:Bob you aren't related to Rupert Murdoch are you ?
Nope, I WISH I were related. I'd make my money the old fashioned way...... I'd inherit it!
Although I HAVE been practicing my Australian accent just in case.....
Hey, one good thing..... Thanks to him people have begun spelling my name right (everyone used to end it with a K for years)
I only end it with a K on March 17, it makes me Irish, then. Otherwise, ending with a H maintains my Scottish heritage (Aye, I dinna know if you ken that I hail from the MacPherson clan!). Oh well, I'm Celtic either way which means that I actually LIKE the sound of bagpipes, am not afraid to wear a kilt, and REALLY like women in plaid skirts.....
MikeD-C05 said:Cool!! I think on March 17th we are all Irish.
As I'm fond of saying, especially on March 17th, I'm Irish everyday!!!!
Scott Greczkowski said:
Motorola makes a far better reciever than Echostar does, IMHO. Getting rid of Dish's buggy hardware and moving to a Motorola platform would do a world of good for Dish. THe other way around, would be horrible for Voom.
