Dish Network Suffers Failed Satellite Launch
Blown Launch of AMC-14 Satellite Could Delay HD Expansion
By Glen Dickson -- Broadcasting & Cable, 3/17/2008 4:04:00 AM
A new Ku-band satellite that was to be used by satellite-TV service Dish Network to increase its slate of HD channels failed to reach orbit after being launched from Kazakhstan Friday.
The AMC-14 satellite -- owned by SES Americom and under contract to EchoStar Corp., which provides satellite capacity for the Dish Network service -- launched normally from the Baikonur Cosmodrome aboard a Proton rocket. But the Lockheed Martin-built satellite failed to reach its planned orbit, according to a statement from launch vendor International Launch Services.
ILS said both it and a Russian state commission began investigating the launch failure, and it will release details when data become available. “ILS remains committed to providing reliable, timely launch services for all of its customers,” the company added. “To this end, ILS will work diligently with its partner, Khrunichev, to return Proton to flight as soon as possible.”
Regardless of the reason for the launch failure, the loss of AMC-14 casts significant doubt on Dish Network’s plan to expand from its existing 50-odd HD channels to 70-100 in order to better compete with DirecTV, Sanford C. Bernstein analyst Craig Moffett said. In a research note to investors, Moffett declared that the competitiveness of Dish’s HD offering has “suffered a major blow.”
“Dish Network had made it clear that HD featured prominently in their own future plans, and that they did not plan to cede ‘video superiority’ to anyone,” Moffett wrote. “Given the long lead times involved in contracting for, building, and launching a satellite, however, it could take years for Dish Network to fully recover.”
Moffett noted that Dish has two more satellites slated for launch later this year, but that they were intended to increase local HD services using spot-beam technology.
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Will Dish put up another satelite in another direction so that people in rural areas among many trees where Dish is un-obtainable at present be able to get service if the future?
Ralph Shrader - 8/9/2008 11:58:00 AM EDT -
Englewood, Colo., March 18, 2008 – DISH Network Corporation (NASDAQ: DISH), the nation’s third-largest pay-TV provider, today confirmed that plans to enhance its HD programming line-up this spring remain on track, despite the launch anomaly experienced by the AMC-14 satellite on March 14.
Over the next two months, DISH Network will increase its local HD offering by more than 60 percent with the addition of HD broadcast networks in the following markets:
April
Abilene, TX
Austin, TX
Baltimore, MD
Columbia, SC
Flint-Saginaw-Bay City, MI
Ft. Myers, FL
Greensboro, NC
Milwaukee, WI
Orlando, FL
Providence, RI
Tampa, FL
West Palm Beach, FL
May
Beaumont, TX
Burlington, VT
Grand Rapids, MI
Green Bay, WI
Greenville, SC
Huntsville, AL
Knoxville, TN
Norfolk, VA
Richmond, VA
“DISH Network customers can be reassured that the expansion of our HD programming over the next few months will proceed as planned,†said Charlie Ergen, Chairman, CEO and President of DISH Network. “We are fortunate to have two more satellites scheduled for launch later this year to continue our HD rollout and reach our year-end goal of 100 local HD markets and 100 national HD channels.â€
Upcoming national HD announcements may include the addition of ABC Family HD, AMC HD, BET HD, The Biography Channel HD, Bravo HD, Cartoon Network HD, CMT HD, CNN HD, Disney Channel HD, ESPN News HD, HBO2 HD, IFC HD, MGM HD, MoreMAX HD, MTV HD, Nickelodeon HD, Sci-Fi HD, Smithsonian Channel HD, Starz Edge HD, Tennis Channel HD, Superstation WGN HD, The Weather Channel HD, Toon Disney HD, USA Network HD and VH-1 HD.
For more information about DISH Network, call 1-800-333-DISH (3474), visit www.dishnetwork.com, or visit your local DISH Network retailer.
Dishuser - 3/18/2008 3:58:00 PM EDT
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