Dish to launch new sats -- What will D* do?

[purtman]

A report says that Dish will launch two new HD sats before the end of the year. Hopefully, this will keep D* sub costs down.

http://www.tvpredictions.com/ergen050907.htm

[Earl Bonovich]

How would it keep "costs" down for DirecTV?
Because another provider is launching two more sats?

I would be more worried about it increasing the rates on Dish Network, as SATs are not cheap.

[Elephanthead]

Well competition usually results in lower end user prices, that is unless the providers are inclined to fix prices, then it is higher then if one of them was a monopoly due to lower economies of scale. I think the biggest threat to D TV business model is IP TV. Comcast just demoed 150megabit per second cable modems, I think that is fast enough to stream HD. Cable want to put all content on networked servers and just serve up individual shows to each TV. This give them virtually unlimited channels as opposed to broadcast. Movie studios and television producers will go where the advertisers want them to go, and this technology forces consumers to not fast forward the commercials, a huge concern for advertisers, plus the ads are interactive and can be customized to the viewer. Imagine only seeing beer ads when your thirsty and food ads when your hungry. Pizza comercials with a built in menu that you select the pizza you want from and its at your door in 20 minutes or less all from your remote control.

[kevinturcotte]

When commercials are forced, that's when EVERYTHING goes off and I turn to torrents.

[Jeremy W]

What will DirecTV do? Nothing, because their new sats, which will be up before Dish's, will give them the capacity to carry every HD channel in existence with room to spare.

[kevinturcotte]

What will DirecTV do? Nothing, because their new sats, which will be up before Dish's, will give them the capacity to carry every HD channel in existence with room to spare.

Supposed to be 150 national HD channels and 1500 HD locals isn't it?

[Jeremy W]

Supposed to be 150 national HD channels and 1500 HD locals isn't it?
That's correct.

[JLucPicard]

Supposed to be 150 national HD channels and 1500 HD locals isn't it?
Capacity for that much. There will need to be content providers making programming available to fill all those channels. ;)

[kevinturcotte]

That's what I meant. I know there aren't 150 national HD channels lol
But that does raise a good question. Since there aren't actually 150 channels available, are they just going to be sitting up there, doing nothing, waiting for new HD channels?

[Paul Secic]

A report says that Dish will launch two new HD sats before the end of the year. Hopefully, this will keep D* sub costs down.

http://www.tvpredictions.com/ergen050907.htm

Wring their hands.

[Jeremy W]

Since there aren't actually 150 channels available, are they just going to be sitting up there, doing nothing, waiting for new HD channels?
Yes, they will have excess capacity that they won't use. If there are no channels to broadcast, there's nothing they can do. It will just ensure that whenever a new channel launches, DirecTV will be ready to put it up ASAP. I see 2008 being a huge year for new HD channel launches, just like the fourth quarter of this year will be.

[Earl Bonovich]

That's what I meant. I know there aren't 150 national HD channels lol
But that does raise a good question. Since there aren't actually 150 channels available, are they just going to be sitting up there, doing nothing, waiting for new HD channels?

Basically.... Yes... both D10 and D11 are going to be used to deliver the content... when both are up, they will not be at full capacity.

It takes a long time (2-3 years or more) to build, test, and launch sats...

So hopefully as soon as these goes up... the planning process for the next set... starts (and D12 the on ground spare... get's a permanent job..)

[BNUMM]

I believe if you do some more checking you will find that the 2 sats. for E* are replacements for existing sats. 1 will go to 61.5 and the other to 118.7.

[gct]

One comment I recall from Chase Carey, early in 2006, spoke to using 'spare' bandwidth to provide multiple channels of HD PayPerView.

Seems to me that with minimal costs, DIRECTV could definitely stimulate their revenue stream by offering a whole range of PayPerView HD Channels.

Best of all, the PPV approach is flexible: when the transponders are available, sell PPV movies; when there are other demands (Olympics, NFL PostSeason, etc) just cut back on the number of HD PPV channels.

[Jeremy W]

Seems to me that with minimal costs, DIRECTV could definitely stimulate their revenue stream by offering a whole range of PayPerView HD Channels.
I suspect they will do this.

[Drew2k]

I never order PPV because the few HD offerings are just not to my taste. I would strongly be in favor of using the available capacity of D10 (and later D11) for multiple HD PPV channels ... and I would even use them, too! :)

[Jeremy W]

I would strongly be in favor of using the available capacity of D10 (and later D11) for multiple HD PPV channels ... and I would even use them, too! :)
By then, we'll also have HD VOD.

[Herdfan]

D* will do nothing since they will still have the NFL package through 2010. And since Charlie was too cheap to bid on the MLB package, he sure won't buck up for the NFL.

Cable may be added, but D* will remain the satellite provider.

[purtman]

It would be nice, however, to have some VOD and some of the other ideas.

[purtman]

I guess this answers my original question ...


http://www.tvpredictions.com/dquotes051007.htm

[CobraGuy]

Interesting article.

[masterdeals]

"That satellite is delayed a bit as we said before due to the C launch problems. "

Pretty ****ty recap of the call when the writer doesn't understand what was said.

The sat is delayed due to the "Sea Launch" problems (explosion).

Talk about embarassing content - simple regeretation screwed up.

[carl6]

Talk about embarassing content - simple regeretation screwed up.

Huh?

[Newshawk]

I think he meant to write "regurgitation". As in Swanni just barfed up what he had received in the press release...

[rcoleman111]

Movie studios and television producers will go where the advertisers want them to go, and this technology forces consumers to not fast forward the commercials, a huge concern for advertisers, plus the ads are interactive and can be customized to the viewer.


Which is why VOD will not replace live TV and DVRs.


Imagine only seeing beer ads when your thirsty and food ads when your hungry. Pizza comercials with a built in menu that you select the pizza you want from and its at your door in 20 minutes or less all from your remote control.


Who knows, maybe someday your cable or satellite receiver will be able to read your mind and know when you are hungry or thirsty. This is what's known as a "pipe dream".

[cnmsales]

Yeah because I consider companies or other 3rd party entities knowing whats in my head a DREAM.

[blueoyster]

So this fall despite the sats not working at full capacity,us SD customers should see an improvement in some of the lower priority networks that have suffered in PQ due to overloading?

Also locals on the 119 will improve?

[mx6bfast]

So this fall despite the sats not working at full capacity,us SD customers should see an improvement in some of the lower priority networks that have suffered in PQ due to overloading?

Also locals on the 119 will improve?
Hopefully the PQ on both HD and SD channels will increase since (from what I've heard) ST will be mpeg-4 this season. I'm not sure if D* is holding onto the extra mpeg-2 bandwidth right now since they have used it for ST in the past, but if ST does go -4 maybe D* will give some of that space back. Then when D* moves all HD to -4 hopefully they will give all of that back to the SD channels.

As far as D* using the extra -4 bandwidth for HD-VOD or PPV, it could backfire on us. D* could make so much money from HD-PPV that they will decide to not shut it off and instead continue to give us HD-Lite in -4.

[kevinturcotte]

ST in MPEG-4? How many people who sub to ST only have SD receivers? They going to upgrade ALL the receivers to H20 or HR20 receivers fr free?

[Titan25]

I think he means NFLST in HD being in MPEG4. That's questionable too, since there are still a bunch of H10 and HR10 units in the field.

I'd actually be surprised to see much of the current MPEG2 HD bandwidth used to improve PQ for SD. More likely, it will be used to add more channels (particularly if Malone gets control).

In any event, I don't see the HD content on 101/110/119 going away in 2008...maybe not in 2009 either.

[RAD]

I think he means NFLST in HD being in MPEG4. That's questionable too, since there are still a bunch of H10 and HR10 units in the field.
The D* web site still says only a 3LNB dish is required to receive the HD games, you only need a 5LNB to receive any games on your local HD channel, if D* carries that channel.

[mx6bfast]

I think he means NFLST in HD being in MPEG4. That's questionable too, since there are still a bunch of H10 and HR10 units in the field.

Sorry yes, I was referring to ST HD.

Maybe ST wont be in mpeg-4 at the beginning, or possibly not at all this year, but (with few hitches) thinking about the time the sat is launched, testing, the time that D* is planning on launching the new HD channels, and the time that the NFL season starts it could all come into play. Not only that, but if D* puts ST HD in -4 it will force all of their ST customers to upgrade and be commited for 2 years.

[Titan25]

Except that many ST subs have already renewed. If they are going to force a hardware change, they would have to disclose before the end of the previous season, so that renewals can be done in an informed manner.

I could just imagine the screaming if DirecTV told all the HR10 owners they had to upgrade to a HR20 or else they can't get NFLST.

[Steve Mehs]

Pizza comercials with a built in menu that you select the pizza you want from and its at your door in 20 minutes or less all from your remote control.

While it has nothing to do with commercials, this happened years ago in New York City. I remember seeing on Tech TV, one of the cable companies that serves NYC, I can't remember if it was Cablevision or Time Warner, had an interactive app that allowed you to order a pizza through your cable box and have it delivered. The availability was very limited.

[bonscott87]

You can lay down a big bet that Sunday Ticket HD will be in MPEG4 next year for sure. If enough HR10 owners have an MPEG4 receiver by then it may well be MPEG4 only to push those last few stragglers over to MPEG4.

They already stated that Extra Innings HD in 2008 will be on the new sats, thus MPEG4 only. It would not surprise me at all to see ST HD in MPEG4 only in 2008.

The current MPEG2 HD will most likely be phased out for good by end of 2008/early 2009.

Once they uplink dozens of new channels in MPEG4 later this year/early next year there won't be many HD subs left that don't have at least one MPEG4 receiver. Time is ticking...

[Tom Robertson]

I would not be surprised if we see wholly new Superfan extras that are on MPEG4 only this season. Perhaps new HD mix channels or something like the NASCAR driver stuff that only the new receivers can get. And it might only start mid-season or so. That way everyone who has the HR10 will get everything they got last year but also encourage everyone to switch organically.

Cheers,
Tom

[DCSholtis]

As far as having the Superfan packages for HD like NFL and MLB does once the new birds go up do you think those packages go bye bye or will they be able to still black things out. Im talking primarily on the baseball SF HD since Im assuming HD RSNs we be turned on CONUS.

[Tom Robertson]

As far as having the Superfan packages for HD like NFL and MLB does once the new birds go up do you think those packages go bye bye or will they be able to still black things out. Im talking primarily on the baseball SF HD since Im assuming HD RSNs we be turned on CONUS.

Blackouts are controlled on a receiver by receiver basis (tho truly via groupings by zipcode I think.) So even when all the HD RSNs are nationwide (as Alaska and Hawaii are covered by D10 and D11's main beams) DIRECTV will still be required to black certain things out.

Cheers,
Tom

[DCSholtis]

Yeah I knew that. Just was wondering if there would still be a need for Superfan HD packages after the birds went up since we would all have the HD RSNs...(Assuming relevent packages are purchased).

[JLucPicard]

NFL is on networks, not RSNs, so the NFL package would be unaffected.

As for MLB, I would imagine if the game is part of the Extra Innings broadcasts, you would most likely not be able to get, say, a Diamond Backs/Giants game in Houston off of one of the Az or SF RSNs. That would defeat the purpose of the EI package, and MLB is not going to let that happen.

[bonscott87]

Yeah I knew that. Just was wondering if there would still be a need for Superfan HD packages after the birds went up since we would all have the HD RSNs...(Assuming relevent packages are purchased).

HD Extra Innings is no different then SD. Games on RSNs that aren't your local ones are always blacked out. You must purchase Extra Innings to get those games. Once the HD RSNs are on CONUS they will be no different then their SD version.

So yes, Superfan for HD EI will still be needed to get HD games.

[DCSholtis]

kk thats what I kinda figured. No problem I actually enjoy SF.