C-Band De-Authorizations Simmer Down

[Steve Mehs]

Last month's C-Band de-authorization count was a breath of fresh air, the big dish only lost 11,756 - the lowest to leave in a long time. This month was different, but still on the lighter side compared to past months.

January de-authorizations totaled 27,775 and 109 new authorizations came around as well. This left the cumulative C-Band count at 558,962. This isn't too bad for the big dish, considering so many believed the service would be long gone at this point.

Although the NFL Sunday Ticket season is over, the National Programming Service (NPS) expressed some great C-Band subscriber results. According to NPS, the portion of the digital C-band subs increased from 35.74 percent of the market to 37.79 percent of the market (in January alone). While total digital authorizations in the industry declined, NPS actually added more than 800 subscribers.

This is all good news for C-Band retailers, subscribers are still buying programming for their big dish. For more information on C-Band, visit www.4dtv.com. For more information on NPS, visit www.dsinps.com.

From SkyRetailer (http://www.skyretailer.com/archive/feb2003/r020603.shtm#one) (Used with Permission)

[lee635]

NPS had a promotion that if you signed up for a year of Showtime, you could buy a digital sidecar for $50. That's the sort of thinking that just might help to level things off for c-band. I doubt they will ever get back to previous levels, but getting more sidecars out there will help keep subs.

[JohnH]

I am about to get a Side car. I miss my Goodlife. :)

[Steve Mehs]

This is sad news :( I remember about 8-10 months ago when I posted an article about c-band dipping below 1M subs for the first time and in another few months there will be 500K or less. If I had few extra grand I'd get a big dish (and a ka/ku) and experiment.

[lee635]

Oh Steve, I got mine for $50 and the chore of dismantling it from a guy's back yard. A top-of-the-line analog receiver with 4 months of a subscription left was included. Check the classified in your area or just knock on the door of someone with a BUD in their backyard and a pizza dish. Chances are someone will be happy to give you a BUD to work with.

[JohnH]

Yeah, the guy said don't cut my DirecTV cable. :)
Of Course, Ebay was a big help with different receiver models
Got a Monterrey M100 and a couple of other brands for $100.