Archive for August, 2006

Time Warner Cable Adds Subs During 2Q

Thursday 3 August 2006 @ 9:11 pm

While seasonality may have impacted other pay-TV companies in the second quarter, Time Warner Cable grew its basic customer total during the three-month period.
The nation’s second biggest cable operator said it added 18,000 basic subscribers during the period, representing the fourth straight quarter of growth and the largest second quarter gain since 2002. The effort took Time Warner Cable’s basic subscriber count to more than 11.1 million, of which 1.6 million subscribers were in unconsolidated joint ventures.

Digital video subscribers jumped by 171,000 during the quarter for a total of 5.8 million, also marking the largest second quarter increase since 2002, the company said. Digital penetration of basic video cable subscribers reached nearly 53 percent at the end of the quarter.

DVR subscribers climbed by 157,000 to end the quarter at 1.9 million, representing 32 percent of digital video customers, Time Warner said.

Residential high-speed data subscribers rose by 230,000 during the period for a total of 5.4 million, representing the sixth consecutive quarter in which net subscriber additions surpassed 200,000, Time Warner said. Digital phone subscribers grew by 234,000 in the quarter to 1.6 million, the fifth straight quarter with growth of more than 200,000 subscribers.

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BCE, BellExpressVu Report Strong 2Q

Thursday 3 August 2006 @ 9:07 pm

Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE) said its BellExpressVu satellite TV service increased its annual revenues by 21 percent during the second quarter ($286 million) and 23 percent year-to-date to $563 million. The financial growth, the company said, was driven by year-over-year ExpressVu subscriber base growth of 10.2 percent and a $4 increase in monthly average revenue per unit (ARPU).

According to company information, BCE’s BellExpressVu - Canada’s largest satellite TV service - added 19,000 net new video subscribers during Q2 and 31,000 year-to-date. The company added 63,000 and 92,000 for the same periods in 2005. BCE said the decreases were due to more aggressive price competition from cable and fewer promos in the retail marketplace.

BCE recently announced BellExpressVu’s “All in One” plan that combines hardware and programming into one digital package to promote the adoption of its video service nationwide.

The company also said that higher year-over-year churn contributed to “softer net activations” but the video churn rate increased by just .1 percent in both the second quarter and first half of 2006. Total video customer base reached 1.758 million at the end of the three-month period representing an increase of 10.2 percent compared with the previous year.

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Murdoch: Gov’t Would Approve DirecTV/Echostar

Tuesday 1 August 2006 @ 12:19 am

Murdoch Talks DIRECTV-Echo Deal
The media mogul fuels speculation that DIRECTV and E*hoStar will make a deal.
By Phillip Swann

Washington, D.C. (July 24, 2006) — Rupert Murdoch, chairman of News Corp., says the federal government would likely approve a merger between E*hoStar and the News Corp.-owned DIRECTV.

Speculation has risen in the last week that the two satcasters will merge. But some analysts have expressed doubt, noting that the federal government rejected a similar merger in 2002 on grounds that it would stifle competition.

However, Murdoch says the marketplace has changed, leaving consumers with a variety of video choices.

“There are so many alternatives, ways of getting pictures and information,” Murdoch said last week on The Charlie Rose Show. “I think it would be much harder for the government to turn it down.”

Murdoch did not say if the two companies are in talks, but his comments have fueled talk that a deal could be forthcoming.

Still, Murdoch cautioned that a merger could be difficult because E*hoStar CEO Charlie Ergen might insist on running the company “at least for awhile.”
Murdoch did not say if he would oppose that arrangement.

Murdoch’s News Corp. and Ergen’s E*hoStar planned to merge in 1997 but the deal fell through when Ergen clashed with News Corp. executives prior to its completion.

DIRECTV and E*hoStar helped fuel merger speculation this month when they teamed up to bid in next month’s U.S. auction of wireless airwaves. And last March, Mike Palkovic, DIRECTV’s chief financial officer, told an industry conference that his company was interested in buying E*hoStar.

Swanni Sez:
Murdoch’s comments suggest that the merger is indeed possible. The 75-year-old media mogul would have never publicly suggested that a deal would be approved by the feds unless he was interested in pursuing one. He seems to be laying the groundwork for a lobbying campaign in DC in case DIRECTV and E*hoStar are able to make a deal.

However, you also can’t dismiss Murdoch’s cautionary comments about Ergen. He could be sending a message to Charlie that the deal could fall apart if he keep insisting on control.

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