Football fans know if they want unheralded access to the National Football League, DIRECTV is the way to go. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the nation’s largest satellite TV provider is improving its NFL Sunday Ticket for the 2007 season and beyond.

First, DIRECTV said it will offer 180 games this season in high-def as part of the Super Fan package. The company charges $269 for the Sunday Ticket package - which gives subs access to all the games - but an additional $99 will deliver the “super” high-def goods. Last year, DIRECTV offered 150 games in HD.

In an interesting twist, DIRECTV subs who sign up for the Sunday Ticket and Super Fan upgrade will be able to watch games on their home PCs via a broadband internet connection. Dubbed the “Supercast” service, customers will be able to watch games online - in high-def - and view several NFL-themed channels with interactive features.

Also included with Supercast, subscribers have for the first time the entire weekly lineup of live NFL Sunday Ticket games available via web-stream to their computers and can receive in-progress highlights from games on demand via their mobile phones with complete scores and clock updates from every game.

DIRECTV secured the rights to broadcast its Sunday Ticket games online when the company signed its carriage agreement with the league in 2004. The satcaster’s deal with the NFL runs through 2010.

The communications satellite sector is thriving across the entire planet, but manufacturers here in the States may not see as much growth. A new study suggests that while satellites are becoming an increasingly efficient means of offering advanced communications services, the share of satellite-related business may be headed overseas.

According to the latest study from Forecast International, the global communications satellite market is expected to generate deliveries of nearly 300 satellites during the next 10 years. However, the firm’s research also suggests that the U.S. share of those orders could possibly be headed for a downturn.

Forecast’s “Commercial Communications Satellites, 2007-2016″ report says while demand for satellite services is growing, an increase in satellite size, power and service life actually has decreased the overall demand for satellites.

The firm said roughly 218 geostationary and medium-Earth orbit satellites will be delivered during the time period valued at nearly $26 billion. The low-Earth orbiting market, Forecast said, should see nearly 70 new spacecrafts produced worth about $927 million - thanks to fleet replacement initiatives from Globalstar and Orbcomm.

The study said the U.S. share of the manufacturing market has declined by almost 30 percent throughout the past three years. Forecast data shows that in 2004, 75 percent of the global commercial communications satellites ordered were awarded to three U.S. companies, while only three orders went to non-U.S. builders. That number dropped to 63 percent in 2005 and 40 percent last year.

Although reaction to DIRECTV’s second quarter results seemed to be somewhat mixed, some industry analysts are saying the company did better than expected. Thanks to subscriber and ARPU gains, it appears DIRECTV’s quarter was more positive than negative.

Wedbush Morgan’s William Kidd seems to agree, saying in light of the current weak retail environment, DIRECTV’s addition of 128,000 new U.S. subscribers and 141,000 Latin American net subs can only be seen as a positive. Also key, in Kidd’s opinion, was that the company reported 50 percent more high-def and DVR customers during the period, boosting ARPU up 6.8 percent.

When DIRECTV CEO Chase Carey unveiled the satcaster’s plans to launch with 70 HD channels by Q3, and have 100 a couple months shortly after, Kidd said the new offering “will give DIRECTV a considerable short-term advantage over cable and likely continue to drive this ARPU trend.”

Coming from the Oppenheimer camp, Thomas Eagan said (again) that although he expects DIRECTV’s positive financial trends to continue, the analyst sees more downside as many of the company’s catalysts have already been achieved.

Eagan concurred that DIRECTV’s ARPU trend is a positive for the company, and that higher SAC ($688 per) reflects increased company spending to drive its HD customer growth. However, the analyst said DIRECTV’s subscriber adds were below most estimates, and net addition weakness reflects that higher-than-expected churn of 1.58 percent. Eagan also said the churn disappointed company management and expected to see an improvement next period.

Pertaining to the company’s Latin America business, Citigroup’s Jason Bazinet said revenues of $409 million and EBITDA of $95 million beat the firm’s estimates on both, and the analyst looked positively upon DIRECTV’s 141,000 Latin net subscriber additions. Bazinet said Citigroup continues to believe DIRECTV shares represent a compelling value, while the potential for mergers and acquisitions after the Liberty/News Corp. asset swap remains in place.

Maybe this satellite broadband thing is really catching on. As the satellite communications industry was busy reporting second quarter results last week, Hughes Communications quietly emerged as one of the industry’s solid performers.

On Friday, Hughes reported second quarter revenues of $234 million, a 12 percent increase from the same period last year; net income of $10 million; and a 50 cent per share earnings increase during the three month period ending June 30.

Hughes Network Systems President and CEO Pradman Kaul said the company delivered a strong all-round financial performance in the second quarter, setting new records for revenue, operating income, EBITDA, and net income. “Operating income increased by 449 percent to a strong $20 million from $4 million; EBITDA more than doubled to $32 million; and net income increased to $11 million compared to a loss of $4 million in the second quarter of 2006,” he said. “Adjusted EBITDA also increased by 12 percent to $32 million in the second quarter.”

Kaul said the consumer/small- and medium-sized business and mobile satellite sectors continued to be a “key contributor” to the company’s revenue growth. He said the consumer/SMB subscriber base grew to 353,000 - an 18 percent year-over-year increase; and revenues from Hughes’ mobile satellite business grew 88 percent to $35 million.

The company also said it is looking forward to the launch this week of its new SPACEWAY-3 satellite. Kaul said the new satellite will “substantially reduce our costs and open up new revenue opportunities going forward.” SPACEWAY-3 is scheduled for lift off on Wednesday.

LEGAL — A Texas judge denied Forgent Networks’ motion for a new trial regarding its patent infringement lawsuit against EchoStar last week. In upholding an earlier unanimous jury decision that the satellite company did not violate a Forgent patent, the court awarded EchoStar $90,000 in court costs. DIRECTV and various cable companies settled with Forgent before trial, the company said.

LEGAL — A jury for the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota ruled Friday that KVH Industries is not liable for infringing a King Controls patent. According to the verdict, the jury found that one of King’s claims was invalid due to “the existence of prior art as well as the obviousness of the technology,” the company said. The lawsuit asserted that KVH was liable for royalties and sought an injunction against selling certain products because satellite switching capabilities present in KVH’s TracVision mobile satellite TV systems had infringed on the King patent.

LAUNCHES — Arianespace’s third heavy-lift Ariane 5 mission of 2007 has been cleared for its Aug. 14 liftoff at the Spaceport in French Guiana. The company said all is ready for Ariane 5’s transfer from its final assembly building to the ELA-3 launch pad for the final countdown. The Ariane 5 carries a dual-passenger payload of Hughes Network Systems’ SPACEWAY 3 and B-SAT Corporation’s BSAT-3a satellites. In related news, SkyBOX will appear next Monday when BRIDGE Editor-in-Chief Evie Haskell returns from French Guiana after viewing the launch in person.

CORRECTIONS — EchoStar said there will be an activation fee for the ViP 622 and ViP 722 DVRs for both new and existing customers. The company said new customers will not receive the upgrade for free. Also, the company’s revenues increased 12 percent to $2.8 billion - not $2.8 million as mistakenly reported last week.

EchoStar detailed its second quarter performance in a filing the company made with the Securities and Exchange Commission late Thursday, including a jump in subscribers that didn’t quite match last year’s 2Q efforts.

The company said its DISH Network service added about 170,000 net new subscribers during the three-month period, taking its total to 13.585 million. That compares to about 195,000 net additions for the same period last year.

EchoStar attributed the lower net subscriber gain to a number of factors, one of them being seasonality. Typically, subscribers churn at a higher rate during the second and third quarters each year than during the first and fourth quarters, the company said.

As for financials, EchoStar said second quarter net income grew to $224.2 million, compared to $168.8 million for the same period last year. Revenues jumped 12 percent to $2.8 million.

More details about EchoStar’s second quarter results should come out today during an investor conference call between executives and analysts.

EchoStar detailed its second quarter performance in a filing the company made with the Securities and Exchange Commission late Thursday, including a jump in subscribers that didn’t quite match last year’s 2Q efforts.

The company said its DISH Network service added about 170,000 net new subscribers during the three-month period, taking its total to 13.585 million. That compares to about 195,000 net additions for the same period last year.

EchoStar attributed the lower net subscriber gain to a number of factors, one of them being seasonality. Typically, subscribers churn at a higher rate during the second and third quarters each year than during the first and fourth quarters, the company said.

As for financials, EchoStar said second quarter net income grew to $224.2 million, compared to $168.8 million for the same period last year. Revenues jumped 12 percent to $2.8 million.

More details about EchoStar’s second quarter results should come out today during an investor conference call between executives and analysts.

Next week EchoStar will unleash new external hard drives that enable DISH Network subscribers to store more high-definition content than ever before. With the advent of new USB hard drives, the company is downloading software upgrades do its ViP 622 HD DVR that will enable the USB connection.

According to reports, the move is coming Wednesday, Aug. 15.

DISH Network said without the external hard drive, its ViP 622 box can house up to 35 hours of HD content. With the added storage, EchoStar said that number skyrockets upwards.

TVPredictions.com reported the USB hard drives must be purchased separately, but with the ViP 622 and a new ViP 722 model, the upgrade will be free to new subscribers. USB hard drives can be purchased for less than $200, and DISH’s HD DVRs are compatible with USB external drives up to 750 GB, the site said.

EchoStar charges existing customers up to $199 to lease the ViP 622 and $349 for the ViP 722. The company said the 722, without the external hard drive, can hold up to 55 hours of HD programming. EchoStar also charges DISH subs a one-time fee of $39.99 to enable the USB add-on service.
__________________

Next week EchoStar will unleash new external hard drives that enable DISH Network subscribers to store more high-definition content than ever before. With the advent of new USB hard drives, the company is downloading software upgrades do its ViP 622 HD DVR that will enable the USB connection.

According to reports, the move is coming Wednesday, Aug. 15.

DISH Network said without the external hard drive, its ViP 622 box can house up to 35 hours of HD content. With the added storage, EchoStar said that number skyrockets upwards.

TVPredictions.com reported the USB hard drives must be purchased separately, but with the ViP 622 and a new ViP 722 model, the upgrade will be free to new subscribers. USB hard drives can be purchased for less than $200, and DISH’s HD DVRs are compatible with USB external drives up to 750 GB, the site said.

EchoStar charges existing customers up to $199 to lease the ViP 622 and $349 for the ViP 722. The company said the 722, without the external hard drive, can hold up to 55 hours of HD programming. EchoStar also charges DISH subs a one-time fee of $39.99 to enable the USB add-on service.
__________________