Launch delayed till July 18th!

[SParker]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20020622/ap_wo_en_ge/russia_us_satellite_1

[Kevin]

Damn! :(

[Mark Lamutt]

Well, better to get the satellite fixed than send up a dead bird!

[Mark Holtz]

Especially if your bird doesn't carry any insurance beyond launch insurance.

[Adam Richey]

Well, Tony, I wanna let you know that this might be the reason OK City locals have been delayed. Dish said they'd be launched on June 19th or soon thereafter. You might as well take them off until July 18th.

[TNGTony]

Ogre,

I don't get the connnection. Ok City was to have been uplinked to 119° spotbeam.

Anyway, I'm glad they caught the problem with E*8 before it was too late!

See ya
Tony

[J Rath]

Apparently the problem is with the command receiver and no date has been set for rescheduling the launch.

http://spaceflightnow.com/proton/echostar8/status.html

also here

EchoStar Press Release (http://www.corporate-ir.net/ireye/ir_site.zhtml?ticker=dish&script=410&layout=-6&item_id=308321)

[Frapp]

Originally posted by SParker
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20020622/ap_wo_en_ge/russia_us_satellite_1

TICK TOCK, TICK TOCk .....

With DirecTV adding more locals, better PQ and more customers, I really think ( IMHO ) that the Dish/DTV merger will collapse in the next 3/4 months, DTV will look elsewhere and Rupert or another large entity will take DTV and give Dish Network competition that may finally send Ergen looking for a buyer.

I know my opinion is in the minority here, but that is what I feel will take place. Dish Networks whole future may be riding on this one.

Time will tell :shrug:

[Adam Richey]

I never thought of it that way before, Frapp, but I think that that could VERY well become a reality because you brought up several good points.

[Richard King]

I really think ( IMHO ) that the Dish/DTV merger will collapse in the next 3/4 months, DTV will look elsewhere and Rupert or another large entity will take DTV I don't think there is a chance of this happening. For this to happen, assuming government approval, Charlie would have to walk away since they have a signed deal. This won't happen. GMH stock is down so far (along with Dish) they wouldn't be willing to let it go at current prices and Rupert is so mortgaged at this point that he couldn't do anything if he wanted to. He just recently wrote off somewhere in the neighborhood of $4Billion on his Gemstar investment alone along with additional writeoffs on other companies.

[TNGTony]

And why would E* go for a buyer? E is still adding more customers per quarter than DirecTV. E* has had positive ebitda for some time and is headed towards its frist "real" profit.

If E* is forced out of this deal by the government (and that is the only entity that can kill the deal right now), my guess it that E* will make due with the resources it has and even start going after KA band.

I see no good financial reason why E* would look for any kind of a buyer.

See ya
Tony

[AllieVi]

Mergers and buyouts sometimes catch everyone by surprise. I've seen examples of proposed mergers that didn't happen because someone else came with a better offer. It's not always obvious what companies might be interested in acquiring others. It's entirely possible that another company (one that none of us would suspect) is looking at D* as we write...

[kstuart]

Yes, there are all sorts of people looking to buy a floundering company that has never made a profit, doesn't care how much it pays to vendors, and has millions on non-paying customers.

[Rouses himself from 1999 daydream] Ooops, sorry, I forgot that @home.com, pets.com, reel.com and most of the other companies that fit that description sank without a trace....

[lee635]

The merger will likely receive regulatory approval with some reasonable requirements.

If the merger doesn't go through, E* will look to partner with a large program provider, for example, Disney. The need to partner with a program provider would be further reinforced if News Corp. were to eventually acquire D*.

[wrate]

Has it officially been said that July 18th will be the launching date?

The spaceflightnow site does not have a date yet.

Wrate

[Scott Greczkowski]

I am told that OK City is now up and the following stations are being transmitted, KOCO-ABC, KWTV-CBS, KFOR-NBC,
KOKH-FOX, KOCB-WB, KAUT-UPN, KETA-PBS and independent
KSBI.

Maybe Charlie will clear this up tonight.

I want Hartford Locals, DirecTV has them already! Arrggg.

[J Rath]

I don't think any "official" date has been set yet. The July 18th date was floated by some of the news wires when the launch was scrubbed. Maybe something will be mentioned on the chat tonight. :shrug:

[TBarclay]

Charlie said last night that the satellite is being "fixed" right now and he expects to launch when they can get a new launch window...probably in 4 to 6 weeks.