The Bells are already in one of the most competitive businesses on the planet and now they are entering into another highly competitive market.
"Cincinnati Bell is on the verge of getting into the video business, riding a national trend that has traditional telephone companies competing with cable or satellite TV.
By October, the downtown-based regional telecommunications company plans to begin test-marketing Internet Protocol television, or IPTV, a technology that uses high-speed phone lines to transmit video with digital quality and even high-definition video and audio to individual customers.
If the test is successful, Bell could start rolling it out to the region by the beginning of next year, says company president and chief executive officer Jack Cassidy"
And next, TV over your home phone line
Sunday
Satellite TV Growing At Cable TV's Expense
"The heated competition works in the consumer's favor because it means they will continue getting more and paying less as providers continue striving to attract new subscribers and retain their current ones, said Jimmy Schaeffler, a senior multichannel television analyst with The Carmel Group.
It doesn't mean consumers are always going to get a great product and great service, he said.
'There are going to continue to be ripoffs because that's the nature of the business,' Schaeffler said. 'Let's just say the more competition there is in this universe, the less likely it is that people can get away with that on a longterm basis.' "
East Valley Tribune | Daily Arizona news for Chandler, Gilbert, Tempe, Mesa, Scottsdale
It doesn't mean consumers are always going to get a great product and great service, he said.
'There are going to continue to be ripoffs because that's the nature of the business,' Schaeffler said. 'Let's just say the more competition there is in this universe, the less likely it is that people can get away with that on a longterm basis.' "
East Valley Tribune | Daily Arizona news for Chandler, Gilbert, Tempe, Mesa, Scottsdale
Thursday
EchoStar Settles Satellite Insurance Claim
DENVER - EchoStar Communications Corp. has agreed to settle a 5 1/2-year-old insurance claim over a malfunctioning satellite that could net up to $240 million.
The nation's No. 2 satellite television provider, which operates The Dish Network, said Wednesday it has reached agreement with insurance carriers representing 83 percent of the full amount.
EchoStar, based in suburban Englewood, filed a $219.3 million claim against numerous carriers in 1998 when one of its satellites missed its orbit after launch and failed to operate properly.
Full Story Below:
Yahoo! News - EchoStar Settles Satellite Insurance Claim
The nation's No. 2 satellite television provider, which operates The Dish Network, said Wednesday it has reached agreement with insurance carriers representing 83 percent of the full amount.
EchoStar, based in suburban Englewood, filed a $219.3 million claim against numerous carriers in 1998 when one of its satellites missed its orbit after launch and failed to operate properly.
Full Story Below:
Yahoo! News - EchoStar Settles Satellite Insurance Claim
Wednesday
Cablevision Shuts Down Voom Satellite Service
By Seth Sutel, The Associated Press
NEW YORK -- Cablevision Systems Corp., a New York-area cable television provider, is shutting down its high-definition satellite television service called Voom after failing to reach an agreement with its own chairman, who wanted to buy the remaining assets of the business.
The announcement from the Bethpage, N.Y.-based company late Monday came amid a fractious battle among members of the Dolan family, which runs Cablevision. Charles Dolan, the company's chairman and founder, had championed the service, while his son James, who is CEO, opposed it.
Last week Cablevision said it would take $354.9 million in charges as it exited the satellite business. Investors had long been skeptical of the plan, which would have put Cablevision in a high-stakes showdown against two entrenched and well-funded competitors, EchoStar Communications Corp., owner of the DISH satellite TV service, and The DirecTV Group Inc.
In December Cablevision said it would sell Voom's satellite to EchoStar for $200 million in cash, and then in February Charles Dolan and his son Tom entered a tentative agreement to acquire the rest of Voom's assets. However, they failed to consummate a deal by a Feb. 28 deadline.
Voom failed to find an audience with consumers since being launched in the fall of 2003. Voom posted an operating loss of $661.4 million on revenues of $14.9 million for all of 2004, including the $354.9 million in write-downs.
In its most recent quarterly regulatory filing, Cablevision disclosed last fall that the Voom service had only 26,000 customers. In its statement late Monday, Cablevision said it would continue providing service to its current Voom customers for at least 30 days. A Cablevision spokesman declined to comment beyond the statement.
Despite the apparently definitive decision from Cablevision to shut down the Voom service, Tom and Charles Dolan released a separate statement through an entity they control saying they were still interested in completing the acquisition of Voom's assets and funding the venture on their own.
The announcement signaled that the family feud surrounding the Voom venture had not yet been settled, which could fuel more speculation that the elder Dolan might sell some of his holdings of Cablevision stock in order finance Voom.
Cablevision also owns New York's Madison Square Garden as well as the sports teams that play there, including the New York Knicks and the NHL's Rangers. Cablevision is in the midst of a public showdown with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg over Bloomberg's plans to build a stadium on Manhattan's West side, which would compete with the Garden.
Cablevision shares fell 69 cents, or 2.2 percent, to close at $30.37 in trading Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange. The shares have risen steadily over the past seven months, nearly doubling from their 52-week low of $16.13 reached last August, on expectations that the company would get rid of Voom and possibly be put up for sale. Its underlying cable TV business has also been growing strongly thanks to rapid growth of premium services like high-speed data and voice-over-Internet phone offerings.
NEW YORK -- Cablevision Systems Corp., a New York-area cable television provider, is shutting down its high-definition satellite television service called Voom after failing to reach an agreement with its own chairman, who wanted to buy the remaining assets of the business.
The announcement from the Bethpage, N.Y.-based company late Monday came amid a fractious battle among members of the Dolan family, which runs Cablevision. Charles Dolan, the company's chairman and founder, had championed the service, while his son James, who is CEO, opposed it.
Last week Cablevision said it would take $354.9 million in charges as it exited the satellite business. Investors had long been skeptical of the plan, which would have put Cablevision in a high-stakes showdown against two entrenched and well-funded competitors, EchoStar Communications Corp., owner of the DISH satellite TV service, and The DirecTV Group Inc.
In December Cablevision said it would sell Voom's satellite to EchoStar for $200 million in cash, and then in February Charles Dolan and his son Tom entered a tentative agreement to acquire the rest of Voom's assets. However, they failed to consummate a deal by a Feb. 28 deadline.
Voom failed to find an audience with consumers since being launched in the fall of 2003. Voom posted an operating loss of $661.4 million on revenues of $14.9 million for all of 2004, including the $354.9 million in write-downs.
In its most recent quarterly regulatory filing, Cablevision disclosed last fall that the Voom service had only 26,000 customers. In its statement late Monday, Cablevision said it would continue providing service to its current Voom customers for at least 30 days. A Cablevision spokesman declined to comment beyond the statement.
Despite the apparently definitive decision from Cablevision to shut down the Voom service, Tom and Charles Dolan released a separate statement through an entity they control saying they were still interested in completing the acquisition of Voom's assets and funding the venture on their own.
The announcement signaled that the family feud surrounding the Voom venture had not yet been settled, which could fuel more speculation that the elder Dolan might sell some of his holdings of Cablevision stock in order finance Voom.
Cablevision also owns New York's Madison Square Garden as well as the sports teams that play there, including the New York Knicks and the NHL's Rangers. Cablevision is in the midst of a public showdown with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg over Bloomberg's plans to build a stadium on Manhattan's West side, which would compete with the Garden.
Cablevision shares fell 69 cents, or 2.2 percent, to close at $30.37 in trading Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange. The shares have risen steadily over the past seven months, nearly doubling from their 52-week low of $16.13 reached last August, on expectations that the company would get rid of Voom and possibly be put up for sale. Its underlying cable TV business has also been growing strongly thanks to rapid growth of premium services like high-speed data and voice-over-Internet phone offerings.
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