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SkyREPORT 08/23/2006 - Court Rejects EchoStar's Distant Net Stay

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Today's Headlines:
Court Rejects EchoStar's Distant Net Stay
Adelstein Sounds Off on Four Issues at Summit
College Football on XM
News Briefs: WildBlue Secures $350M


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Court Rejects EchoStar's Distant Net Stay

The U.S. Supreme Court rejected EchoStar Communications' appeal for an emergency stay of the 11th Circuit Court ruling and subsequent Florida Federal District Judge injunction barring it from airing distant network signals. The decision could force the company to shut off the distant network signals for about 800,000 - or 6 percent - of its DISH Network subscriber base.


"Less than 10 percent of EchoStar's subscribers would be impacted, but we will continue to explore every possible option available to avoid unnecessary disruption to our customers who watch distant network channels," the company said in a statement. "We have settled with hundreds of stations and station groups over the eight and a half years this case has been winding its way through the court system, and we continue to negotiate with the broadcasters who have not yet settled."


EchoStar now has two remaining options: an outright financial settlement with broadcasters or terminable shut down of the distant network signals. Reports have stated broadcasters are looking for around $300 million - or $375 per distant network signal customer - versus EchoStar's offer of $100 million. According to Wachovia's Jeff Wlodarczak, if the company turns off all the distant signals and loses half of the subscribers to competition (400K), the end result would be about $1 per share in lost value. A "worst case scenario is not that bad," he said.


Several organization's have voiced their opinions on the Supreme Court ruling. The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), which in 2004 supported reauthorizing the Satellite Home Viewer Act (SHVIA) that allowed customers to receive satellite HD signals unavailable over-the-air, said the act's intentions need to be upheld.


"Consumers need to be able to receive distant network broadcast HD signals when such signals are not available over the air from local broadcasters," CEA President and CEO Gary Shapiro said in a statement. "Consumers will be best served by a highly competitive subscription television marketplace (and) CEA urges Congress to ensure consumers - even in rural areas - have meaningful choices for HD broadcasts."


Public policy foundation Frontiers of Freedom Institute also came to the defense of rural TV subscribers saying the end of the road for hundreds of thousands of consumers who have come to rely on distant network signals is in sight. "If Congress doesn't act, rural Americans will once again be on the wrong side of the digital divide - innocent bystanders caught in the crossfire of a complicated legal fight between the broadcasters and EchoStar," said the group's president, George Landrith. 

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Adelstein Sounds Off on Four Issues at Summit

The Aspen Summit, taking place in the Colorado mountain town and ran by the Progress and Freedom Foundation, is underway … and already some news is being generated from the event.


One of those addressing the summit is FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein, who told attendees there are four big issues facing the Portals: Potential multicast must-carry regulation, a la carte pricing for pay-TV, media ownership and indecency regulation. Adelstein said for all of those issues - minus media ownership - he prefers a market-based approach with minimal regulation.


Also, outgoing Foundation President Ray Gifford chided supporters of net neutrality, joking that pro-net neutrality advocates are suggesting "the end of the Internet is near" if net neutrality mandates aren't part of telecom reform legislation.

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College Football on XM

XM Satellite Radio will kick off its coverage of the 2006 college football season starting Aug. 28. Among some of the larger games to air nationwide on XM during that week include Notre Dame vs. Georgia Tech, Stanford vs. Oregon, Boston College vs. Central Michigan and Indiana State vs. Purdue.


According to the satellite radio company, 2006 marks the first year XM will carry all the football teams in the Big East Conference in addition to being the official satellite network for the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), Big East Conference, Big Ten Conference and Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10). XM will also cary the BCS bowl series on ESPN Radio.


A complete schedule of the ACC, Big East, Big Ten and Pac-10 college football games for the upcoming broadcast season on XM will be available at www.xmradio.com.


Listeners can also tune into the XM original "College Football Coast-to-Coast," which will air live, weekday's at 1 p.m. ET and Saturdays from 12-8 p.m. ET on XM's new 24-hour sports channel XM Sports Nation (XMSN) on channel 143. Hosted by T.J. Rives, the hour-long program covers news from college football conferences across the country, game analysis, interviews and listener call-ins.


Also beginning Aug. 28, sports fans will be able to program the sports ticker, or "Info Extras" feature, available on various XM radios to scroll the scores for individual teams, rather than tracking an entire division. 

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News Briefs: WildBlue Secures $350M

FINANCIAL -- WildBlue Communications completed a $350 million debt financing led by Liberty Media and Tennenbaum Capital Partners.  The $350 million of secured financing enhances the company's capital structure and provides additional capital to fund the continuing growth of WildBlue's broadband business. 


SATELLITE -- Sea Launch Company successfully delivered the Koreasat 5 communications satellite to geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO). The company said its initial data from the spacecraft indicates it is accurately positioned and in excellent condition.


PROGRAMMING -- Lifetime Television is launching its first VOD service featuring full-length episodes and special features to approximately 10 million Comcast digital cable subs. Lifetime On Demand includes programming from the network's series like "Lovespring International," "Cheerleader Nation," "Intimate Portrait" and "What Should You Do?".





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