Satellite TV provider Dish Network said Tuesday that AT&T will end its agreement to bundle its TV service with AT&T's broadband and phone service at the end of the year.
AT&T and Dish have had a joint marketing deal since July 2003, which allows AT&T to package the Dish TV service with AT&T's phone and Internet packages. But AT&T has decided not to renew the agreement, and as required by the contract between the two companies, AT&T is giving Dish six months notice that the deal will expire December 31, 2008.
The move is likely a way for AT&T to negotiate a better deal with either Dish or its competitor DirecTV. In April, AT&T expanded its partnership with Dish in the old BellSouth territory. (AT&T bought BellSouth in 2006.) And it stopped marketing a similar package with DirecTV.
At the time, it looked as if AT&T had dropped DirecTV for Dish. But AT&T has always maintained that it's discussing partnerships with both companies. And now it looks like the company is free to pit one company against the other to get the best possible price.
AT&T said in a statement that it will continue to discuss options with Dish even though it has terminated the current agreement.
Video is a key part of AT&T's strategy. The company has spent millions of dollars over the past few years to upgrade its network with fiber so that it can deliver TV over its IP network. The new U-Verse service is up and running in parts of AT&T's network. But the company isn't able to deploy U-Verse everywhere, so it has been relying on deals with satellite TV providers to deliver a so-called triple-play bundle that includes TV, phone, and broadband services in a single package.
This blog was updated at 1:20 p.m. PDT with a statement from TiVo.
A month after an appeals court confirmed that Dish Network's DVR software had indeed violated a TiVo patent, Dish is retaliating with a lawsuit of its own.
(Credit:
Dish Network)
The Colorado-based satellite TV provider filed suit in Delaware Friday, asking the court to declare that Dish's current DVR software does not violate TiVo's '389 patent.
Dish says in the filing that it updated its software nearly two years ago in response to TiVo's patent violation suit. It wants TiVo to stop making public statements that allege that the current software on Dish's DVRs are still in violation because it's "causing uncertainty in the marketplace for DVRs," according to the court filing.
A TiVo spokesperson said the company had not yet seen the filing, and therefore could not comment.
Voom's channels are no longer available on Dish Network.
(Credit: Voom.tv)
Just two days after it launched 22 relatively high-interest HD channels, Dish Network has stopped broadcasting the 15 specialty Voom HD channels. The channels, which Dish has long been interested in dropping to make way for more popular channels, include names like GamePlay HD, Treasure HD, Kung Fu HD, and Monsters HD, and programming most viewers have never heard of.
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SciFi HD is among the 22 new HD channels launched by Dish Network.
(Credit: CNET)Ever since DirecTV launched a slew of national high-definition channels last October and November, it's been the only place most Americans can get their Cartoon Network, Sci-Fi, and Bravo networks in high-def. On Monday, Dish network caught up somewhat, announcing the activation of a total of 22 new high-def channels, including those three and many other national, high-interest channels--as well as a few lower-interest ones, including World Fishing Network HD. Twenty of the channels are supposed to go live Monday, and the last two, the regional sports networks (RSNs) Comcast Sports Network Bay Area HD and Comcast Sports Network New England HD, will be activated Wednesday, according to the company. Check out the full list of new channels on the official press release.
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Looks like Dish may have spoken a bit too soon.
A little over a week ago, an appeals court determined that Dish Network (formerly EchoStar Communications) had indeed violated a software patent held by TiVo on digital video recorders.
(Credit:
CNET Networks)
While TiVo gleefully celebrated, Dish expressed disappointment, but assured its customers that none of its products would be affected because the software that was in violation had already been remotely updated by the company some months before.
Now it appears there's just a bit more to the story. Engadget has a blog pointing to notices Dish sent on Monday. The Colorado-based satellite TV company informed customers that though most of its DVRs are in the clear, there are four models--the 721, 921, 942, and Homezone 1022--that can no longer be sold because their software has not been updated. This only affects hardware bearing those model numbers that have not been sold or activated. If you already have one of those models installed, Dish says it is not subject to the injunction.
It's really important to note that these are fairly old models, so this likely won't affect many Dish resellers. The 942 model, for example, was reviewed by CNET in 2005.
Updated at 11:45 a.m. PDT with Dish Network's statement.
Another court has upheld TiVo's patent suit against EchoStar Communications.
A U.S. Appeals Court on Friday denied EchoStar's appeal on an earlier court ruling that said the company's Dish Network digital video recorders violated a patent held by TiVo. The ruling was first reported by Thomas Hawk's Digital Connection blog.
Friday's appellate court decision comes two years after TiVo's initial victory, in which a court found that EchoStar's DVRs (digital video recorders) "willfully infringed" on TiVo's patented TimeWarp technology. EchoStar appealed the ruling, which awarded $73.9 million in damages to TiVo. It was also upheld by an appeals court in January.
Alviso, Calif.-based TiVo first sued EchoStar in 2004 for selling its Dish Network DVR, which, like TiVo's DVR, allows TV watchers to record one channel and watch another simultaneously.
"We are extremely pleased that the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit today denied EchoStar's petition for a rehearing en banc, upholding the court's unanimous ruling in our favor on January 31, 2008, in EchoStar's appeal of the district court judgment of patent infringement, full award of damages and an order for the injunction to be reinstated," TiVo said in a statement.
EchoStar said it was "disappointed" by the court's decision not to rehear its appeal. "The decision, however, will have no effect on our current or future customers because EchoStar's engineers have developed and deployed 'next-generation' DVR software to our customers' DVRs," the company said in a statement. EchoStar said the updated software has been delivered to its customers and that none of the DVRs currently infringe on TiVo's patent, and promised that customers will see no interruption in service as a result of the ruling.
EchoStar, which has since changed its name to Dish Network, said it plans to appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Could satellite TV provider Dish Network be planning to build a mobile TV service with its newly won 700Mhz spectrum?
That's the question that many analysts were asking after it was disclosed this week that the company, also known as EchoStar Communications, spent $711 million for a block of licenses in the auction that is ideal for offering mobile broadcast TV, according to a Reuters story.
The much-talked about auction ended Tuesday raising about $19.6 billion for the government. Wireless carriers AT&T and Verizon Wireless won the bulk of the spectrum.
The licenses that Dish bought were in the 6MHz sliver of spectrum called the E-Block. Because these licenses cover such a narrow band of spectrum, it would be hard for Dish to build a broadband wireless service to transmit two-way communication. This means that building a cellular phone or wireless broadband service using this spectrum is nearly impossible. But the spectrum could be used to send communications one-way, making it ideal for services such as broadcast TV.
Qualcomm already owns spectrum that is adjacent to the spectrum that Dish bought. Qualcomm uses its spectrum to deliver its MediaFlo TV mobile broadcast TV service. Qualcomm had also been bidding in the auction and was attempting to get the E-Block licenses. The fact that it wasn't able to get those licenses is a negative for the mobile technology company.
"It makes more sense for one provider to operate both pieces of spectrum," Steve Clement, an analyst at Pacific Crest Securities told Reuters.
Dish hasn't said yet what it plans to do with the spectrum. Some analysts in the Reuters story speculate that it could cost the company between $3 billion and $5 billion to build a mobile TV network. The company said in a financial filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission in February that it might "make investments in or partner with others to expand our business into mobile and portable video, data and voice services."
There's also a possibility the company could work with Qualcomm.
Dish bid on the spectrum through its partner Frontier Wireless.
One of the largest satellite TV providers is slicing itself into smaller pieces.
Formerly called EchoStar, it will be split into two businesses: the satellite broadcast service will be called Dish Network, and its fixed satellite services and set-top box business will be called EchoStar Holding Co., according to SEC filings dug up by GigaOm.
(Credit:
Dish Network)
Current chairman and CEO Charlie Ergen will retain both titles as head of both companies.
EchoStar Holding Co. (EHC) will include Sling Media, which was bought by EchoStar in October for $380 million. The Slingbox is now one of several set-top boxes that EHC could possibly sell to other cable operators or other satellite companies.
There had been rumors earlier this year of AT&T being interested in buying EchoStar, and Dish Network as its own business could be easily snapped up by the cable operator.
Blake Krikorian can't be blamed for using surfer slang to describe his elation at being acquired by Echostar Communications on Monday.
The co-founder and CEO of Sling Media, maker of the Slingbox set-top device, along with his brother Jason, came up with a game-changing idea for the mobilization of TV content and now seven years later, they've finally cashed in. A day after EchoStar Communications, which owns satellite provider Dish Network, announced it would acquire Sling for $380 million, Krikorian spoke to CNET News.com about what it means for the company, future products and relationships with content owners.
Sling Media CEO Blake Krikorian
(Credit: Sling Media)Though he could barely contain his excitement, he says going forward it should be "business as usual" for Sling, which will remain intact as a wholly owned subsidiary of EchoStar. However, now they've got the goods to really do what they want to do.
"We get to accelerate some of our efforts in terms of funding, access to technology," he said in a phone interview. "EchoStar has built a lot of their own products, deployed more DVRs than anyone in the world. All that software and hardware they built themselves. It's pretty interesting technology for us to leverage into some of our solutions."
Sling's funky trapezoid-shaped set-top box allows cable and satellite subscribers to "placeshift" their channels to remote devices like mobile phones and PCs. Though he does anticipate working directly with Dish Network to differentiate some of the Dish products, Krikorian insisted Sling will remain "carrier or operator agnostic." He says EchoStar understands this as well.
"They're telling us to 'Go, run like crazy, and do what you're doing, and let us know how we can help you. And by the way, here's a bunch of technology.'"
The relationship between Sling and EchoStar goes back a bit. The satellite company is just one of several of the companies that had given a total of $58 million in investment. He wasn't looking necessarily to sell Sling, and in fact the company was on the verge of closing a third round of investment when the EchoStar idea presented itself, Krikorian said.
So why a satellite provider and not a software, hardware or media company? Krikorian says the chances of getting lost in the shuffle at a big media company were "very high" and going to a straight-up technology company wouldn't provide the established relationships with content providers. Cable was not an option because of the companies' limited reach, he said.
Besides the wealth of technology and resources Echostar has to offer, Krikorian says he was attracted to the culture at Colorado-based EchoStar--namely that it's not corporate.
"The guy who's running the place is the guy who founded it. (Charlie Ergen, co-founder and CEO) is an entrepreneur, not a corporate suit," he said.
For Krikorian, he believes EchoStar pays as much attention to creating technology, as it does to the bottom line. There's also a certain legitimacy that comes from association with an established content distributor like EchoStar, which will likely be key for a boundary-pushing company like Sling.
The nature of its business--place-shifting content anywhere--has made some content creators more than a little nervous. Home Box Office and Major League Baseball's Advanced Media division have publicly complained that Sling enables its customers to illegally re-broadcast content. But that was when Sling was a lonely little start-up. Having EchoStar acting as a proverbial bodyguard might scare the bullies away.
"If anything, (HBO and MLB will) look at (the Slingbox) with more comfort and more positively than they looked at it before. The fact of the matter is, going to EchoStar versus another technology or software company is...they know EchoStar. EchoStar pays them hundreds of millions of dollars annually," said Krikorian. EchoStar "values content. They make money by selling premium content."
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