Free Republic

Despite the recession and growing competition, DIRECTV has been remarkably effective in continuing to add subscribers. In its last financial statement, the satcaster said its net subscribers rose 74 percent in the second quarter, with a monthly churn rate of just 1.5 percent. At the end of the second quarter, DIRECTV reported that it had more than 18 million subscribers in total, a seven percent increase over last year's second quarter. Well, DIRECTV, enjoy it while you can. I predict that the nation's largest satcaster will start to experience a slowdown in subscriber growth -- and it will be largely...

Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa announced Saturday he is seeking to definitively shut down a private television station that he accused of "espionage" on his office. The station Teleamazonas, a private broadcaster that has been critical of Correa and his government, has already been fined multiple times for breaking broadcasting law, notably for reporting opposition charges of voter fraud during April's general elections. This week the station broadcast a secretly recorded conversation between Correa and a Quito lawmaker -- seemingly the last straw for Correa, who has sought the station's closure for months. "I ask that Teleamazonas... is finally closed," Correa...

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Authorities have closed an office of an Arab TV station after it broadcast an interview with a Saudi man speaking frankly about sex and showed off erotic toys, a Saudi official said Sunday. Abdul-Rahman al-Hazza, the spokesman of the Ministry of Culture and Information, told The Associated Press that the office of LBC, a Lebanese-based satellite TV station, in the western city of Jiddah was closed because of the program and because it is unlicensed. "The closure is indefinite," al-Hazza said. The Saudi man, Mazen Abdul-Jawad, has been in detention since last Friday. Abdul-Jawad, a 32-year-old...

<p>LONDON (AP) - The BBC is using two extra satellites to broadcast its Farsi-language service after days of jamming it blamed on Iran.</p> <p>The British state-run news organization said the move was meant to help it reach its Iranian audience as the crisis over their country's disputed election deepens. It is also a challenge to Iran's religious government, which has accused foreign broadcasters of stirring unrest, singling out the BBC in particular.</p>

The BBC said Sunday that the satellites it uses to broadcast in Persian were being jammed from Iran, disrupting its reports on the hotly-disputed presidential election. The corporation said television and radio services had been affected from 1245 GMT Friday onwards by "heavy electronic jamming" which had become "progressively worse". Satellite technicians had traced the interference to Iran, it said. The satellites its uses in the Middle East to broadcast BBC Persian television to Iran were being affected, meaning that audiences in Iran, the Middle East and Europe would likely experience disruption. BBC Arabic television and other language services had...

Note: The following text is a quote: THE BRIEFING ROOM THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secrectary _______________________________________________________________ For Immediate Release April 13, 2009 April 13, 2009 MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF STATE THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE SUBJECT: Promoting Democracy and Human Rights in Cuba The promotion of democracy and human rights in Cuba is in the national interest of the United States and is a key component of this Nation's foreign policy in the Americas. Measures that decrease dependency of the Cuban people on the Castro regime and that promote contacts between Cuban-Americans...

Well, the New Year is here and I've already made nine predictions for High-Definition in 2009, including $99 Blu-ray players and an end to Internet TV services Vudu and Apple TV and retailer Circuit City.I also predicted that the Digital TV transition will create a ratings hardship for local TV stations with many viewers deciding not to participate in the switch due to its confusing nature.So, do I have any more predictions for 2009? Yes!My crystal ball is still clear as a bell. So let's start the year with 5 more fearless forecasts for HDTV.1. DIRECTV Cuts Back On Original...

Washington, D.C. (December 30, 2008) -- On July 31, 2008, Dish Network issued a press release saying it planned to expand its high-def lineup to 150 channels by year's end. On November 1, 2007, Verizon released a press statement saying it would have 150 HD channels by the end of 2008. And several times this year, DIRECTV issued press releases saying it would have the capacity to deliver up to 150 national HD channels before the year was over. So now that the year is over (minus about a day or so), did these top TV providers keep their promises?...

Al-Quds, Hamas’s second satellite TV channel, went on air on November 11, further expanding that movement’s media empire. Hamas’s willingness to invest considerable resources in its media, even when faced with financial distress, reflects the significance it places on the battle for hearts and minds.

For years, it's been one of those speculative staple questions of consumer-media research: If you could only keep one thing out of a list that included your phone, your TV or your computer and internet connection, what would it be? But with the recession looming, it's no longer such an academic question. Agencies, media, telecoms and other marketers are pondering the implications of an impending shakeout where, after years of piling on one subscription fee after another, consumers take a harder look at what they really need. Their decisions in what look to be lean years ahead could play a...

I'm just trying to find answers......

Flipping channels, I come across channel 73 on my Dish system. It is called "Obama:Barrack Obama's Plan for America". This is unbelievable.

OK - I'm about to call DishNetwork and give them a piece of my mind. However, I'm running out of pieces to give. I was flipping through my channel guide on DishNetwork and what did I find? An entire freakin' channel on 0bama. Channel 73 on DishNetwork is now OBAMA. Looks like all it is doing is playing over and over and over "Barack Obama's Plan for America".

It has not been a good year in the courts for Echostar / Dish Network. Today thanks for the folks at the Electronic Freedom Foundation (EFF) a court has blocked a request from Echostar to subpoena the records containing the name, address, email address and purchase details of everyone who has ever purchased a Coolsat Brand Free To Air Satellite Receiver. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Last month, EFF filed an amicus brief in Echostar v. Freetech, where Echostar sought the identities of every consumer who purchased a Freetech "CoolSat" free-to-air (FTA) satellite receiver during the past five years. EFF argued that this demand,...

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Arabs across the ideological spectrum, from secular-minded liberals to Muslim hard-liners, are denouncing a top Saudi cleric's edict that it was permissible to kill the owners of satellite TV stations that show "immoral" content. Many expressed worry the recent comments by Sheik Saleh al-Lihedan — chief of the kingdom's highest tribunal, the Supreme Judiciary Council — would fuel terrorism, encouraging attacks on station employees and owners.

Washington, D.C. (August 5, 2008) -- Dish Network is considering merging with rival satcaster DIRECTV, The Wall Street Journal reported today. The newspaper reports that the companies have not discussed a formal proposal, but have had "general discussions" about the idea. The two satcasters attempted to merge several years ago, but the FCC rejected the plan in 2002 on grounds that it would be anti-competitive. However, in the years since, other video competition has emerged, including TV services from telco giants AT&T and Verizon and set-top Net TV services from Apple TV, Amazon, TiVo and Netflix. WSJ reports that Dish...

Dish Network today announced that it will add 17 national HDTV channels on August 1, saying the additions will give it 100 national HD channels overall. The satcaster promised in January that it would offer 100 national HD channels by year's end. DIRECTV, Dish's top satellite rival, now offers around 95 national HD channels, but has promised to deliver up to 150 national HD channels by year's end. “In January, we promised our customers that DISH Network would boost our national HD channel lineup to 100 by year’s end. Today, we are proud to say that in less than one...

Among the international broadcasters that will cover the Democratic National Convention in Denver is al-Jazeera, the Arab satellite news network based in Qatar. Al-Jazeera English (launched in 2006) and al-Jazeera Arabic, separate but collaborative networks, will send two dozen staffers each. "This presidential election is the biggest story of the year, even on the international level," according to Camille El Hassani, senior producer for al-Jazeera English, based in Washington. "The next president's ideologies and his philosophies affect our viewers. Al-Jazeera is making a commitment to be at all the big events, including the conventions, Democratic and Republican." Al-Jazeera English will...

In the very real war on terror, a nosy squabble over “fighting them there so we don’t have to fight them here” clouds a simple truth: namely, that “they” are here already. Indeed, Islamists are busy constructing a wing of jihad in America’s backyard. A potential audience of one million Arab-speaking cable subscribers of Time Warner in the greater New York area can feast on the Arabic Channel known as TAC to choose a menu that includes: A daily dose of Islamic jurisprudence from a sheik — most often Egyptian Amr Khaled, who wears a suit instead of a robe,...

Dish Network today added Sci-Fi Channel HD and USA Network HD to its High-Definition lineup. Rumors have circulated for weeks that the satcaster was about to add the two channels. With today's additions, Dish now has 79 national HD channels. Dish's high-def expansion plans suffered a setback this month when a satellite it planned to use to increase its HD capacity was declared a failure. But Dish said yesterday in a regulatory filing that it's still "on track" to offer 100 national HD channels by year's end, which it promised in January. Dish said there are still two more satellite...

SEDALIA, Mo. -- Prosecutors are not expected to file charges against a Missouri man who fatally shot his wife while he was trying to install a satellite TV system in their home. Henry County investigators ruled that Patsy Long's March 22 death was accidental. Her husband, Ronald Long, fired his .22 caliber pistol from inside their Deepwater home after he couldn't punch a hole through the exterior wall using other means.

Dish Network's new satellite designed to expand its High-Definition programming capacity failed last night. The AMC-14 satellite, which Dish was leasing from SES Americom, lifted off successfully yesterday morning. But International Launch Services, which was conducting the launch, reports that an "anomaly" occurred during the second burn of the Breeze M upper stage. The satellite then failed to reach its planned orbit. Once operational, the satellite was expected to enable Dish to begin adding high-def channels, increasing its current total to roughly 70 to 100 by year's end. The satcaster has said it would launch three new satellites in 2008...

LONDON — A new Arabic-language television news channel from the British Broadcasting Corporation will cover events in the Arab world “without fear or favor,” as it seeks to set itself apart from other government-financed broadcasters in the region, Nigel Chapman, director of the BBC World Service, said Monday. The channel, BBC Arabic TV, plans to start broadcasting 12 hours a day of news and current affairs programs to the Middle East, the Persian Gulf region and North Africa on March 11, followed by round-the-clock programming by the end of the year, the BBC said. It will have a $50 million...

Washington, D.C. (February 24, 2008) -- A law firm has filed a class action lawsuit against DIRECTV charging the satcaster with failing to tell customers they must eventually return their receivers -- even if they paid hundreds of dollars for them at retail. The lawsuit, which was filed in federal court in Los Angeles by the Chicago-based Wexler Toriseva Wallace LLP, also includes CE retailer Best Buy. The law firm says the companies have not "adequately disclosed" that a customer can not keep his DIRECTV receiver even after paying for it. At BestBuy.com, the satcaster's receivers now range in price...

DIRECTV and Comcast have settled their lawsuit over High-Definition picture quality. That's according to an article by Multichannel News. DIRECTV filed the lawsuit in May, charging Comcast with false advertising for an campaign that claimed it had a better HDTV picture than satellite. Comcast cited a Frank N. Magid Associates study conducted in March 2007 that said respondents were shown high-def signals from Comcast, DIRECTV and EchoStar.and asked to rate each screen. According to the Magid study, Comcast was the preferred choice of the three. While the settlement terms are confidential, says Multichannel News, the agreement allows Comcast to continue...

AUSTIN — Cable companies and the NFL Network are competing for Texas lawmakers' support in their national fight over whether cable customers should be charged extra for the football channel. While some cable companies have agreed to carry the network's eight regular-season games, Time Warner Cable, the largest in Texas, has not come to terms with the network. Pressure has been mounting on all parties as the Dallas Cowboys' Nov. 29 matchup with the Green Bay Packers approaches. The game will only be shown on the NFL Network. "I've had a lot more people contact me about NFL football the...

Washington, D.C. (October 15, 2007) -- DIRECTV today added six new national High-Definition channels to its rapidly expanding lineup. The new channels are: Fox Business Network (channel 359); HGTV HD (channel 229-1); FX HD (channel 248); Speed Network HD (channel 607); Fuel HD (channel 612) and The Cartoon Network (channel 296). DIRECTV's launch today now gives the satcaster 47 national HD channels (51 if you include the four broadcast networks, available in most markets.) The company says it will offer 70 HD channels by month's end and up to 100 high-def channels by the end of the year. DIRECTV today...

Washington, D.C. (October 10, 2007) -- DIRECTV today added four High-Definition channels, bringing its national HD channel total to 45 (including the four local networks). The new channels are: MGM HD (channel 255); Food Network HD (231-1); National Geographic HD (276) and CNBC HD+ (355) DIRECTV says it will offer 70 HD channels by month's end and up to 100 high-def channels by the end of the year. The satcaster started the HD expansion in September with the addition of 21 new High-Definition channels. EchoStar, the nation's second leading satellite service, this week claimed that it's still the HD leader...

Washington, D.C. (September 27, 2007) -- AT&T has offered to buy EchoStar, the nation's second largest satellite TV service. That's according to an article today from TheStreet.com. The web site reports that AT&T has offered $55 a share, while the satcaster may be holding out for $65 a share. The deal would seem to make sense for both companies. EchoStar is under pressure to increase spending on several initiatives, including High-Definition TV, to keep pace with rival DIRECTV and the cable operators. AT&T could supply the financing, for instance, for EchoStar to launch new satellite to expand high-def capacity. Meanwhile,...

Daystar will air part II Friday Sep 21st on the "Joni" show of interview with General Sada, one of Sadam's generals who witnessed Sadam's intention of use WMD. God bless Daystar! God bless President Bush and PM Blair!

Christianity Spreading in Iran via Multimedia By Jennifer Riley Christian Post Reporter Christianity is expanding in the closed, heavily Muslim country of Iran through multimedia technology, according to a Christian persecution watch group. Iranian Muslims in growing numbers are coming to know and accept Jesus Christ through satellite-TV, internet and other media outlet, reported Open Doors Middle East field worker Stefan De Groot. “New media is becoming increasingly important in the future to strengthen the church,” De Groot said, according to Open Doors. Formerly, Muslims in restricted countries such as Iran usually only come to Christianity through miraculous experiences such...

I'd like to ask for your help. I'm a Directv subscriber. Have been since 1998. Back then, I couldn't get local programming via Directv, so i subscribed to their network feeds from NY & LA. Since then, Directv has expandd it's capacity, and now carries signals from virtually every local market in the U.S. Directv now has the ability to deliver local television programming from any market in the country. The probelm is the FCC. Under the Satellite Home Viewer Act, and it's subsequent revisions, Directv can provide "local-to-local" programming. That means, if they carry the signals from your local...

We got the Dish installed today and all was fine. Then the kids started manually inputting different channels using the remote. As a result, the entire satellite programming was lost. We have what looks like the blue screen of death. I called customer service twice and they have no clue as to how to fix this. We have to wait two days for a tech. to come out and fix this. Have any of you had this happen where the kids did this and your entire programming disappeared. If so, I would appreciate some pointers. The way the people set...

Colorado's two U.S. senators have asked the Senate Judiciary Committee to investigate a dispute between DIRECTV and EchoStar over network channels. News Corp., DIRECTV's parent, last week asked a federal court to stop EchoStar from providing 'distant' network signals to nearly one million subscribers. The signals, which originate from New York and Los Angeles, include both analog and High-Definition TV feeds. EchoStar says it will pay $100 million to local stations to settle the nine-year-old legal battle over 'distant' network TV signals. The local stations are concerned that EchoStar's subscribers will watch the national signals instead of their feeds. However,...

Teheran (dpa) - Teheran's police commander said Tuesday that the removal of satellite dishes in the capital Teheran and the crackdown on satellite television have been resumed, the news agency ISNA reported. General Morteza Talaei said that the residents should dismantle their satellite equipment voluntarily, and not "force police" to remove them. The general termed reception of satellite programmes as a "clear legal offence" and said that the illegal status of satellite reception has during the recent years been totally ignored in the Iranian capital where most of the almost 12 million residents watch foreign programmes via satellite. The Iranian...

Shares of America’s #2 satellite television provider, EchoStar Communications, have hit 17-month highs in recent days amid speculation that leading rival, DirecTV Group Inc., could try to purchase the company. Such a merger would likely face regulatory and antitrust hurdles, but many analysts believe that these problems would be relatively easy to overcome. After all, the combined entity could be a strong competitor in the triple play communications industry, now increasingly polarized between cable and telecom carriers. The decision to merge with DirecTV would rest solely with Charlie Ergen, EchoStar’s Chairman, CEO, and co-founder, who currently controls more than...

ABU DHABI — Iran has forced the United Arab Emirates of Dubai to halt live Persian-language television broadcasts. Western diplomatic sources said the broadcasts contained Western programming and discussed democracy. They said President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his advisers regarded these broadcasts as part of a U.S.-led effort to foment unrest in Iran. Iran also pressured Holland to end support for the Persian-language broadcasts. The sources said Teheran awarded several major projects to the Netherlands in wake of its decision to withdraw support for the broadcasts.

A U.S. evangelist who has been declared an “enemy of the state” by Iran has unveiled plans to broadcast special Christmas television programmes into the predominantly Muslim country. “We received word here in our office from within the country, that in the public media inside Iran I have been declared an enemy of the state,” said evangelist Sammy Tippit. “Their view of me, I don't think it can get any worse." According to Tippit, the topic of discussion in the new special programming, which is also to be beamed into India, will be suicide. The programme will combine a scene...

XM Satellite Radio has reached an agreement with satellite television provider DirecTV to offer 72 channels of music, children's, and talk programming to DirecTV users, nearly doubling its current audio programming at no additional cost. In addition to music channels and children's programming, XM will provide its Major League Baseball Home Plate talk channel, and its High Voltage channel, featuring Opie & Anthony. XM will be available on DirecTV as of November 15. "This marks the beginning of a natural partnership between the nation's leading satellite radio company and the leading satellite television company," said Patricia Kesling, SVP/Marketing and Operations...

MOSCOW, December 9 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's first 24-hour English-language news channel will begin broadcasting on Saturday, December 10. "We have several satellites, and we will broadcast to the United States and Canada via IA-5 and to Europe via Hotbird-6," Margarita Simonyan, the 26-year-old chief editor of Russia Today, said. "The Taicom-3 satellite will transmit our programs to Asia, Africa and Australia." She said people in Russia would be able to watch the channel as part of the NTV-plus basic package. "Broadcasting will start at 4 p.m. Moscow time [1 p.m. GMT] tomorrow," Simonyan said. The launch of Russia Today...

Dishing it out Man beams 5,000 radio, TV channels with a dozen satellite receiversBy Amelia A. PridemoreRegister-Herald Reporter Are 20 movie channels on demand just not enough? Do constant reruns of “I Love the ’80s” on VH1 have you ready to gouge out your eyeballs? Then come to Al Jessup’s house — where his 5,000-plus radio and television stations from around the world beamed in by his 12 satellite dishes are bound to keep you entertained somehow. Since 1998, the Beckley resident has amassed a collection of 12 dishes around his James Street home. He said he first just began...

Saudi state-run Channel One TV broadcasted the first episode of a new series aimed at dissuading young Saudis from following in the footsteps of many of their contemporaries to join the jihad (holy war) earlier this week. “Jihad Experiences, the Deceit” is a five part series which will tell the stories of several young Saudis who left to Iraq to fight alongside Abu Musab al Zarqawi. Zayd Asfan, Abdullah Khoja and Walid Khan narrated their journey from ordinary Saudi youth to mujahideen and discussed the recruitment and brainwashing techniques used by al Qaeda. At the end of the program, Channel...

WASHINGTON -- Trying to preserve their electronic pulpits, the nation's religious broadcasters find themselves in the unusual position of fighting an effort by anti-indecency groups to thwart channels offering racy programming. The issue involves a debate over whether cable companies should continue offering subscribers mainstream and niche channels in bundles, or let them buy what they want on an "a la carte" basis.

WASHINGTON – Sexed-up, profanity-laced shows on cable and satellite TV should be for adult eyes only, and providers must do more to shield children or could find themselves facing indecency fines, the nation's top communications regulator says. "Parents need better and more tools to help them navigate the entertainment waters, particularly on cable and satellite TV," Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin told Congress on Tuesday. Martin suggested several options, including a "family-friendly" tier of channels that would offer shows suitable for kids, such as the programs shown on the Nickelodeon channel. He also said cable and satellite providers could...

The founder of the nation's first Arabic Christian TV channel says the programming is attracting phone inquiries from curious Muslims. The Southern California-based channel Alkarma, whose name means "the vineyard" in Arabic, premiered Oct. 17. It is the brainchild of Samuel Estefanos, an Egyptian-born businessman. The channel gets 10 to 15 calls a day from Arabic speakers with Muslim surnames who are intrigued that Alkarma would give away a movie known as the "Jesus Film" and other materials. "Some of them call and say they are Muslims and need to know more about Christ," Mr. Estefanos said. "Other people are...

Excerpt - WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- A House Commerce Committee draft bill sets a Dec. 31, 2008, deadline for the transition to digital from analog television signals - three months earlier than legislation approved by the Senate Commerce Committee Thursday. The House Commerce Committee is expected to mark up its version of the digital-TV bill later this month. The legislation, details of which were obtained by Dow Jones Newswires, also sets aside nearly $1 billion to conduct a consumer education campaign and fund a subsidy program for consumers with analog TV sets to purchase digital converters so that they don't lose...

The owner of The Dish Network said Thursday it pulled the Outdoor Life Network from its system after the cable channel failed to provide NHL games to the nation's second-largest satellite television provider. EchoStar Communications Corp. spokesman Marc Lumpkin said the network did not show games on Oct. 10-11 and on Monday and Tuesday as advertised. "We were not given advance notice that they would not show the programming," he said. Although best known for broadcasting the Tour de France and cyclist Lance Armstrong, OLN this fall took over broadcasting National Hockey League games on cable from ESPN, a unit...

A privately funded television channel, which has received the endorsement of the Russian Orthodox Church, will begin broadcasting in Moscow, Russia. The Russian Orthodox Church has embraced the new channel, which it hopes will offer a distinct alternative to secular television. A Moscow Patriarchate spokesman, ArchPriest Vsevolod Chaplin called current programming on Russian Television “stupid entertainment, spiritual fast food,” and “intellectual cud,” according to Interfax. “The most important thing is that an alternative is offered to the dulling and drowsing television,” he added. The new channel, which will reach 1.2 million people in the capital city has been endorsed by...

Halloween scares have come early to South America, and one knocking on the front door right now is Telesur, a new satellite TV network funded largely by Venezuela’s authoritarian president Hugo Chávez. According to its director, Aram Aharonian, the purpose is to disseminate “a truthful view of the social and cultural diversity of Latin America and the Caribbean to the world.” But rattling Venezuela’s democratic neighbors and legitimizing the region’s leftist terror movements seems to be its real mission. Promotional broadcasts in early July featured flattering video of Colombian guerrilla commander Manuel “Sureshot” Marulanda, who is trying to overthrow his...