Focus: Broadcasting

Serbia Broadband (SBB), Serbia’s largest cable operator, is targeting 100,000 subscribers for its new direct-to-home (DTH) service within the next two years. SBB announced it was launching a DTH service at the end of January based on Eutelsat’s W2 satellite. TotalTV initially will offer 25 channels. "It is difficult to say but we hope in...

The advent of Internet protocol (IP) TV promises more choices for consumers in terms of both content and convenience and more business for satellite operators, industry officials said. The advent of IPTV "is the beginning of a shift in the paradigm, as we move from the broadcast world to everything on demand," said Michael Kazmier,...

DirecTV Group Inc. earned $336 million in 2005 as revenues improved 16 percent to 13.2 billion, the company reported Feb. 8. In 2004, DirecTV lost $1.9 billion on revenues $11.3 billion. The improvement in 2005 net income was due to the higher operating profit and two non-cash after-tax charges that hurt 2004 results: $724 million...

As broadcasters rush to introduce new ways for people to access the world’s fast-growing supply of video content, they are depending heavily on satellite-television and cable providers to pave the technological path to consumers, television industry executives said. Satellite companies play a key role in allowing viewers to use popular new services such as on-demand...

Virginia Not Alone in Eyeing DBS Tax DBS operators, beware: The state of Virginia wants to nail your customers with a 5 percent sales tax. "We understand that state legislators in Virginia are considering imposing a 5 percent sales tax on a number of telecommunications services, including DBS and cable," Bear Stearns Equity Research wrote...

Facing mounting competition from cable and telecom companies, it is no surprise that industry rumors resurfaced that AT&T may buy Echostar outright rather than merely reselling the satellite television company’s service. Despite the speculation, Echostar remained steadfast as we went to press that it will remain independent. Such rumors are not new for the U.S....

By Peter J. Brown Consumers want more control over their time and their content. Broadcasters are responding by making their content available on demand using a variety of distribution channels including DBS and broadband. While the satellite industry knows the boundaries well and accepts that true on-demand delivery is off limits, at least for now,...

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the U.S. Treasury Department agency responsible for collecting taxes, as well as administering business and individual tax programs. The nearly 100,000 IRS employees include revenue agents, revenue officers, information technology specialists and human resources professionals. The IRS, like many organizations, has had to face a decrease in its travel...

If you hear rumors that Echostar Communications Corp. is unhappy about offering a package of channels that are considered family friendly, ignore them. In truth, making Congress happy by providing a family-friendly package is making Echostar very happy. The reason? At $19.99 a month – $24.99 a month if local channels are included – Echostar’s...

Eutelsat ended 2005 in hectic fashion, closing the saga of its efforts to go public with a successful initial public offering (IPO) Dec. 2 after an earlier false start. With Eutelsat now a publicly traded entity, it becomes the next focus of the consolidation efforts that have started in the Fixed Satellite Services industry, said...