Technology360

Murdoch's DirecTV/VOD plans

Edward Jay Epstein writes:  "... Murdoch plans to digitally deliver movies and other programming from his satellites to home digital video recorders that would be the same quality, or higher (HDTV), than a DVD. Since there are not enough transponders on satellites to stream movies to individual subscribers on demand, Murdoch needs DVRs in every home to make his digital-delivery system work. With DVRs, the satellites can upload movies in the middle of the night in encrypted form onto subscribers' hard discs without us having to do anything or even be aware of it. (One idea now under consideration at DirecTV is to provide these DVRs with an enormous 160-gigabyte recording capacity. The subscriber would only be told about 80 gigabytes, with the remaining 80 gigabytes reserved for encrypted movies.) Once the movies are placed on the DVRs, a customer 'rents' them by clicking on his remote control. ..."  Link 1:  Slate.  Link 2:  NPR Day to Day.

The definitive source for what's on

Decisionmark has an online service called titantv that gives what they describe as "the definitive source for what's on," complete program listings for analog and digital television, DBS and cable.  You just type in your zip code or fill out a free registration for more advanced services.  Link:  TitanTV. --Dennis

Internet and Multimedia 2005: The On-Demand Media Consumer

Arbitron has a new report of this title:  "One in 10 Americans show a heavy preference to control their media and entertainment, according to the latest study from Arbitron Inc. and Edison Media Research—Internet and Multimedia 2005: The On-Demand Media Consumer. The study focuses on new devices and services that allow Americans to exercise more control over the media they consume. Topics include DVRs, portable MP3 players and other on-demand technologies. ..."  A 38-pp summary (pdf) and 49-pp PowerPoint (also pdf) are available on the Arbitron web site.   It's also available at Edison Media Research. Thanks to  Roger Johnson for the tip. --Dennis

David Jennings has a methodology critique of this on his DJ Alchemi weblog entitled, What Does On-Demand Media Really Mean?  Thanks for the tip to Stephen Hill. --Dennis

FCC reports state of the video nation

Departing FCC chairman Michael Powell says “This year promises advances in long-awaited interactive television services, giving the public more control over their viewing experiences.” ¶ The comment comes in the introduction to the Federal Communications Commission’s report to Congress providing the annual assessment of the status of competition in the market for the delivery of video programming. ... Link: informitv.

The FCC's news release and report are online (pdf). --Dennis

Competition between Cable Television and Direct Broadcast Satellite -- It's More Complicated than You Think

The FCC's International and Media Bureaus have announced a paper of that title by economists Andrew Wise and Kiran Duwadi. -- Dennis. The working paper finds that there is a cost to switching between cable and DBS. DBS is often considered a substitute for basic cable service, but the paper finds that cable subscribers may face substantial switching costs to move from cable to DBS services. Wise and Duwadi use price data from the FCC’s annual cable price survey and other related demographic variables to examine the cost of switching from cable to DBS and vice versa. They find some firm-specific cable attributes and demographic variables that influence consumer choice, and find that switching costs appear to affect consumers’ decisions to switch from one service to another. Links: News release. Paper. Thanks to Mark Schubin.

Cablevision Sells VOOM to EchoStar

Echostar Communications has purchased the struggling VOOM HDTV satellite service for $200 million in cash. ¶ Cablevisions service, called VOOM has struggled since its creation with only $26,000 subscribers and more than $76 million in lost revenues. The company claims it will continue to provide service to current customers, but there is no word on how the transition to EchoStar Communications will occur. ... Link: DesignTechnica.

Here's the story in the New York Times. --Dennis

World-first MPEG-4 HDTV satellite transmission

DirecTV demonstrated what it claimed to be the world’s first live MPEG-4 high-definition transmission via satellite at the Consumer Electronics Show. ¶ The advanced video compression scheme will be used by DirecTV to expand its video offer by launching hundreds of local and national HD channels later this year and in 2007. ... Link: informitv.

Voom going to Echostar?

I posted "Cablevision may abandon satellite TV plan" this morning.  Om Malik's weblog has an interesting follow-up.  His Wall Street Journal link requires a paid subscription. --Dennis.  Malik writes, "... Following up on that news, I have learnt from those familiar with the whole situation, that Cablevision and Echostar are in advanced talks and the price tag for the deal is in the $250 million region. I tried calling Cablevision, Voom and Echostar, and obviously have not heard back from them. I spun the wheels most of the day trying to nail down more details … oh well. Just spoke to the Echostar spokesperson and he offered the boiler plate - we don’t comment on rumor and speculation, and this certainly has both. I think Voom is one of those ill-fated experiments, that came to market 24-months too soon. ... Link: Om Malik on Broadband.

Cablevision may abandon satellite TV plan

Cablevision Systems Corp., a Long Island-based cable TV provider, said Tuesday it is suspending plans for a spinoff of its money-losing satellite broadcasting business and will consider other alternatives for the unit. ¶ The high-definition satellite venture, which is marketed under the brand name VOOM, has had a tough start since being launched more than a year ago and has been a source of major concern among Cablevision's investors. ... Link: AP via Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

Digital Satellite TV Continues To Grow - Home Video News

Digital satellite pay TV platforms continue to grow in many areas of the world, and are expected to enjoy higher profitability over the next several years, according to In-Stat/MDR. ¶ However, growth in some mature regional markets is slowing or stagnating, the high-tech research firm says. ¶ "We expect 40 million worldwide DTH pay-TV subscribers to be added through 2008 as compared to the 61 million digital DTH pay-TV subscribers that were active at the end of 2003," said In-Stat/MDR analyst Michelle Abraham. "In addition to an increasing subscriber base, the industry's profits are on the rise due to reductions in equipment costs, increases in package pricing, and new revenues from new services and features." ... Link: Designtechnica News.