FTA FREE To Air ABA Dss Blog

RESEARCH — Nearly 16 percent of American households who use the internet watch television broadcasts online, a new study suggests. According to The Conference Board and TNS, the number of consumers viewing entire episodes on the ‘net has doubled from one year ago. The research firms said personal convenience and avoiding commercials were the top two reasons why consumers are flocking to the internet for video. The study also said four of five online viewers say watching internet video has not changed their TV viewing habits.

TECHNOLOGY — Integral Systems subsidiary RT Logic unveiled its new Telemetrix 500RX high-rate digital/analog recorder system. Combining RT’s high-speed field programmable gate array (FPGA)-based hardware and firmware with commercial off-the-shelf PC server technology, the T500RX offers customers aggregate recording and playback rates in excess of 1 Gbps and is available in 1U, 2U, and 5U rack-mount versions, the company said.

INTERNATIONAL — Russian satellite operator Gascom inked a capacity deal with Network Teleport Italia. The Italian company will lease capacity on the Yamal-202 satellite to provide data, internet, television, radio and IP content distribution. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

MISCELLANY — The Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association (SBCA) welcomed three firms to the organization as new installation members. The SBCA said it will now be working with Impact Satellite of Harrisburg, PA; Computer Cabling Products International of Denver, CO; and Atlas Marketing of Provo, UT to support their education and licensing efforts.

DIRECTV and EchoStar were hoping that when the House Judiciary Committee approved a tax moratorium extension bill last week that it would prohibit states from imposing DBS-specific taxes. Now both companies are looking for answers after learning the bill does not include the language they wanted.

One solution could come in the form of a bill House Judiciary Committee Chair John Conyers introduced in September. The DBS companies are lobbying for the state tax streamlining bill, but sources said it is unclear whether the House will pass what would be non-discriminatory legislation this year.

According to reports, Conyers is set on having Congress address the issue which could have significant implications on states’ ability to enact taxes on satellite TV that are different from those established for cable services. As it stands, six states currently have what the DBS companies consider “discriminatory” tax structures on satellite TV.

PROGRAMMING — EchoStar launched Spanish-language TeleFormula on DISH Network’s Dish LATINO package, the company said Thursday. TeleFormula is one of the highest-rated satellite channels in Mexico and Dish LATINO is the largest distributed Spanish-language package in the States. To promote the launch, TeleFormula started a $500K awareness campaign across it 45-plus U.S. radio affiliates. The network serves more than 3 million viewers in Mexico, the company said.

RESEARCH — The Space Foundation has released The Space Report 2007 containing global space industry budgets and revenue data. The organization said the updated report reveals dramatic growth in the space economy that is outpacing other markets and indices. The Space Report 2007 is available for free download at www.TheSpaceReport.org.

INTERNATIONAL — Mobile satellite service provider Globalstar subsidiary Globalstar Europe is launching Static IP address and virtual private network capability for its satellite data customers throughout western Europe — Malaysian satellite operator Measat signed new distribution agreements helping the company enter the South Asian markets. Unveiled this week, Measat inked deals with Pacific Century Matrix to use Measat-3 to distribute two Asian movie channels — SES Astra acquired a stake in Dubai-based system integrator Glocom for digital broadcasting solutions. Terms of the deal were not given — Broadcast automation and content management solutions company OmniBus Systems unveiled plans to expand its operations in the Asia-Pacific region following increased installations at broadcasters including Ascent, Astro, Discovery, NDTV and TV3.