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A day after its DBS competition crossed a HD locals milestone of its own, DISH Network said Thursday that its high-def locals count now stands at 70 markets, a number that reaches 71 percent of U.S. TV households. DISH said it added HD locals for five markets: Florence/Myrtle Beach, S.C.; Fort Myers/Naples, Fla.; Greenville/New Bern/Washington, N.C.; Madison, Wis.; and Wilkes Barre/Scranton...

Apparently, DISH Network/EchoStar directed some cash to TiVo tied to the companies' ongoing litigation concerning alleged patent violations. In a statement, the DVR pioneer said it received $104.6 million from DISH/EchoStar on Wednesday. The amount includes the initial $74 million in damages awarded by the U.S. District Court handling the patent infringement case as well as supplemental ...

The markets reached a new low Thursday, with the Dow closing down more than 7 percent to 8,579.19. The satellite business wasn't spared in the continuing bloodbath on Wall Street. Among satellite stocks, DIRECTV closed down more than 9 percent to $20.09 during trading Thursday. DISH shares fell nearly 12 percent to $16.09. EchoStar shares tumbled more than 7 percent to $20.66. Sirius ...

SkyFILES: Sink or Swim for Sat Radio by Michael Hopkins The new satellite radio behemoth has taken Fungus off the air. The audio stream dedicated to all things punk, first envisioned by XM in 2004, has been replaced with a repetitive infomercial touting - no kidding - AC/DC's new album. No more noise from the Ramones, Husker Du or Bad Brains. No more of the good West Coast stuff from...

EchoStar said satellite industry veteran Joseph Clayton has joined the company's board of directors. The appointment increases the size of EchoStar's board from seven to eight members. Clayton served as chairman of Sirius from November 2004 through July 2008 and served as CEO of Sirius from November 2001 through November 2004. Clayton also is known for his work as executive vice president for ...

Telesat said it will start commercial service aboard the recently-launched Nimiq 4 satellite on Saturday. The spacecraft is fully leased to Bell TV, which will use the satellite to expand high-def services in Canada --- Intelsat said the Office des Postes et Telecommunications of French Polynesia signed a multi-transponder contract for capacity on its new satellite, IS 18 --- Globalstar said its...

DISH Network said it is offering four Filipino channels through two new international programming packages. The channels are GMA Pinoy TV, GMA LIFE TV, DZBB Super Radyo and DWLS Barangay LS. GMA Pinoy TV is GMA's first international channel, and now the most requested Pinoy channel abroad, bringing you the best Filipino shows. GMA Life TV offers more than just mainstream entertainment ...

While the U.S. Supreme Court's move to deny DISH's appeal of the TiVo patent infringement case was a significant - though not entirely unexpected - blow for the satellite TV company, the litigation between the companies is far from becoming a done deal. On Monday, the Supreme Court denied DISH's petition to review a U.S. Court of Appeals Federal Circuit ruling that upheld a lower federal ...

On Monday, DISH Network signed national content and hardware distribution agreements with Pace International and the newly-formed Pace CSO. Through the relationship, Pace will offer both DISH Network content and hardware to operators targeting triple-play communities. The approach will allow Pace to "capture the community" as a single turnkey solution, including billing for properties and ...

SES AMERICOM said the AMC-21 satellite is now operational and delivering content and connectivity for broadcasters and mobile broadband service providers. Anchor tenant PBS, which serves 356 public television stations, has transitioned its complete programming lineup to AMC-21, the company said --- Arianespace said its Ariane 5 ECA will carry Eutelsat's Hot Bird 9 and W2M satellites during a ...

DISH Network said it is offering four Filipino channels through two new international programming packages. The channels are GMA Pinoy TV, GMA LIFE TV, DZBB Super Radyo and DWLS Barangay LS. GMA Pinoy TV is GMA's first international channel, and now the most requested Pinoy channel abroad, bringing you the best Filipino shows. GMA Life TV offers more than just mainstream entertainment ...

Wednesday, October 1, 2008, 08:28 AM Can It Be True? Verizon FiOS Caught Lying Again? Customers are complaining that the company has failed to deliver a $200 Circuit City promotional card. Washington, D.C. (October 1, 2008) -- Verizon's FiOS last spring offered a $200 Circuit City gift card if you signed up for its 'Triple Play' bundle of service -- TV, Internet and Phone. ...

Free satellite TV services are taking off in the United Kingdom. Last week, U.K. regulator Ofcom said there were 840,000 households in the European nation with a free satellite service at the end of the second quarter. That was an increase of about 120,000 users from the previous quarter, the government said. The free satellite services include the Freesat offering from the BBC and ITV...

Thursday, October 2, 2008, 04:58 AM Vudu to Add 1080p HD Downloads The set-top service will debut the feature next week. Washington, D.C. (October 2, 2008) -- Vudu, the Video on Demand set-top service, says it will offer sharper and more vivid 1080p high-def movies in its lineup starting on October 2. The Vudu set-top, which costs $299, enables users to download movies over a ...

LOS ANGELES (AP) — RealNetworks Inc. said Monday it had temporarily stopped distributing its DVD copying software, RealDVD, at a federal judge's request in a copyright case brought by Hollywood studios. "We temporarily suspended distribution of the product until tomorrow," said Seattle-based RealNetworks' spokesman Ryan Luckin. The site, made inactive Friday, now tells visitors: "Rest ...

With football season in full swing, losing access to the weekend game through a local cable operator isn't a good thing. That's the predicament some viewers found themselves in after Time Warner Cable dropped LIN TV stations last week due to a retransmission consent skirmish between the companies. Stations dropped by the MSO are located the football cities of Buffalo, Green Bay and ...

At the Federal Communications Commission last week, Sirius XM continued its push regarding use of its terrestrial repeater network, including an outline of concerns about possible interference with satellite radio by wireless WCS services. WCS licensees want to convert spectrum into mobile services in bands immediately adjacent to spectrum utilized by satellite radio. In a presentation ...

But satcaster says its current DVR are not in violation. Washington, D.C. (October 6, 2008) -- Dish Network today said it would issue $104 million in damages to TiVo after the U.S. Supreme Court today refused to consider its appeal of a patent judgment. TiVo sued Dish Network in 2004 for DVR patent infringement and a Texas jury in April 2006 found in TiVo's favor. The verdict has since...

Last week, DISH Network terminated another group of retailers that the satellite TV company said it believes engaged in alleged illegal activity, including fraud and misrepresentation when establishing customer accounts. Those retailers are Dish TV, Cyberworks Software, STVR Entertainment and Powersat USA. A half-dozen retailers were dismissed by DISH in mid-September for the same ...

While the U.S. Supreme Court's move to deny DISH's appeal of the TiVo patent infringement case was a significant - though not entirely unexpected - blow for the satellite TV company, the litigation between the companies is far from becoming a done deal. On Monday, the Supreme Court denied DISH's petition to review a U.S. Court of Appeals Federal Circuit ruling that upheld a lower federal ...