DirecTV and EchoStar jostled for attention and headlines throughout the 2007 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, as the two direct-to-home (DTH) providers unveiled a variety of new products and offerings.

DirecTV displayed its Sat-Go portable system, PC-TV connectivity via Intel Viiv technology and its planned launch and carriage of 100 national high-definition (HD) channels. Echostar’s Dish Network counterpunched at each step with its MobileDish in-car service, a high-definition digital video recorder (DVR), interactive TV (iTV) programs and a DVR bundle package.

More interesting than any single product or service, however, was the different directions being taken by the rival companies, said market analyst Jimmy Schaeffler, chairman of the California-based Carmel Group, who detected a “dichotomy” in the offerings.

“EchoStar focused on DVR, DVR, DVR,” Schaeffler said. “They came out of the gate and they made it real clear that that’s their main focus going into 2007. That is a strategy focusing on the mass consumer market, and improving their strategies in that marketplace.” Meanwhile, DirecTV is “fulfilling niche focuses.”

Chase Carey, president and CEO of DirecTV, told a CES audience, “This is DirecTV’s break-out year for HD, [as] the launch of our two new satellites will complete the largest capacity expansion in DirecTV history, and no other video service will be able to match the sheer volume and quality of our HD programming. With HD adoption now reaching critical mass in the U.S., and 40 million homes projected to have HD-capable TVs this year, DirecTV will be uniquely positioned as the best choice for HD programming,” he said.

With the planned launch of the DirecTV-10 and DirecTV-11 satellites later this year, Carey said his company “will have the ability to deliver more than 1,500 local HD and digital channels and 150 national HD channels, in addition to new advanced programming services for customers.”

DirecTV has announced agreements, either signed or in principle, with more than 70 major networks including: A&E, National Geographic, Bravo, NFL Network, Cartoon Network, SciFi Channel, CNN, Speed, Food Network, TBS, FX, History Channel, HGTV, Weather Channel, MTV, and USA Network. It will also offer HD sports programming with hundreds of games and other content available from regional sports networks around the United States, including YES Network, Comcast Sports Net, New England Sports Network and Fox Sports. DirecTV also plans an expanded line-up of HD programming available from all premium movie channels.

Schaeffler tempered such optimism, however. “They talked about plans down the road for launching a satellite, but those of us in the industry know that the actual launch of the satellite is the one thing you don’t control, or that the mass HD market that they’re talking about is still in the future and is iffy.”

Perhaps creating the most buzz overall was DirecTV’s Sat-Go portable satellite TV system, featuring an easy-to-carry, fully integrated receiver with flat antenna, two speakers, 17-inch LCD monitor and replaceable/rechargeable laptop-style battery all stored in a briefcase-sized package. The brainchild of TV producer and writer Rick Rosner, the Sat-Go can be setup indoors and outdoors to find line-of-sight connection with DirecTV satellites, provided the user is within range of a DirecTV signal. DirecTV withheld pricing details pending Sat-Go’s release in the spring, though the retail cost has been estimated between $1,000 and $1,300, plus an additional $4.99 monthly fee to extend a customer’s existing programming package to the portable receiver.

“It’s nice to see DirecTV doing that, because they’re not usually as much a pioneer as EchoStar,” said Schaeffler, but he  wondered whether the price point would have to come down before its full advantages are felt. “I don’t know how many people are in tailgate America looking for a $1,000 portable set.”

Conversely, EchoStar and its Dish Network introduced the MobileDish in-car satellite service combining Dish Network’s programming package with antenna technology from Vienna, Va.-based RaySat which allows customers to watch live satellite television from their vehicles even while in motion. “People today are always on the move and have a need for TV even while on the road,” Mark Jackson, president of EchoStar Technologies, said in a statement.

“In the long term, MobileDish will be a good product,” Schaeffler said. “It really does point out the incredible flexibility of satellite, which cable doesn’t have nor is it likely to get.”

Also slated for the spring, for airing to more than 100 million homes worldwide, is the Championship Gaming Series (CGS), an international video gaming league. Originally announced last year, the CGS will expand to feature teams from North America, Latin America, the United Kingdom, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Australia as the world’s top professional gamers compete for an international title and more than $1 million in prize money. DirecTV reported that it is in final negotiations with British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB), Star Asia and others to create an international network for broadcasting the CGS. An Internet unit of Fox Interactive Media, IGN Entertainment, will provide online coverage by creating a multi-platform for an online audience.

 “Championship Gaming Network and the Sat-Go… are both probably first-rate products and services,” said Schaeffler. “They’re focused on niche audiences.”

Schaeffler also  praised EchoStar for “revolutionizing the storage of content” through a sidecar with 500 megabits of memory that is set up to communicate between the set-top box and the television. “One of the things that’s real impressive is that you don’t have to worry about stacks and stacks of physical music. I’m really impressed with that,” and the notion that “Hollywood won’t be suing them for content,” he said.
Legal issues already exist, Schaeffler noted, since “another thing they’re doing is the legal battle with TiVo,” for whom Schaeffler worked in the ongoing case between the DVR provider and EchoStar.

“To my way of thinking, if I’m investing for revenues, I’m not happy,” Schaeffler said. Based on the results of a jury trial and appeal, he said, “courts don’t like EchoStar, and that’s an issue. The bottom line is that they need to get away from recalcitrance. Sometimes settlement can be hugely more gratifying and beneficial to shareholders.”