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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: satellite TV

satellite TV stories: 11 news summaries
don't touch that dial


 TV Viewers Migrate to Web 

Americans are more and more likely to have watched shows online

Oct 26, 09 1:17 PM CDT
(Newser) - More and more Americans are watching television exclusively online and ditching their cable or satellite service. One-quarter of families have tuned in online, and 25% of those viewers have watched a full-length show on a computer—a 67% jump just since 2007. “The idea that you come home and... More »

MORE ABOUT:
entertainment • television • Internet • cable TV • satellite TV • online • digital video • Hulu • consumer electronics

(Newser) - Times are tough, and for cable and satellite TV companies, that means—more porn. Comcast is following DirecTV's lead and ramping up advertising for adult pay-per-view channels, reports Advertising Age. The spots will generally run on guy channels such as Spike TV and ESPN in the wee hours. Meanwhile, the... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Internet • DirecTV • Comcast • cable TV • pornography • satellite TV • adult films • pay-per-view

 7% Not Ready for 
 Digital TV Switch 

With switch due Feb. 17, estimated 7% aren't prepared; feds' coupon program shaky

Dec 22, 08 8:59 AM CST
(Newser) - With US television’s transition from analog to digital broadcasting less than two months away, officials are worried that consumers still don’t have the signal-converter box, the Wall Street Journal reports. An estimated 7% aren’t prepared, and Congress, which authorized $1.34 billion for coupons to help consumers... More »

MORE ABOUT:
television • cable TV • satellite TV • digital broadcasting • digital converter box • digital transition

Saudi Judge:
Kill Offending Broadcasters

Sheik urges fatwa on owners of channels
with 'corrupt beliefs'

Sep 12, 08 4:45 PM CDT
(Newser) - The highest judge in Saudi Arabia says “it is permissible” to murder owners of satellite TV networks that broadcast questionable material during Ramadan, the Guardian reports. When a caller to his radio show asked about channels featuring “bad programs,” Sheik Saleh al-Lihedan responded, “What does the... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Saudi Arabia • censorship • Islamic Sharia law • satellite TV • fatwa • Ramadan

 Hi-Def Fans Allege Low Blow 

Cable's compression of HD signals water down the product, connoisseurs say

Apr 21, 08 3:16 PM CDT
(Newser) - TV enthusiasts are miffed that high-definition channels aren't looking as good as they should on expensive home-theater systems, the AP reports. Without much spare bandwidth, compressing the signal is cheaper for the cable companies than increasing capacity. "They have to figure out a way to deliver more HD content... More »

MORE ABOUT:
television • Comcast • satellite TV • high definition • bandwidth • signal compression

DirecTV to Get With Times, Add On-Demand

Satellite service will combine DVR, web streaming to deliver it

Mar 13, 08 2:41 PM CDT
(Newser) - Challenged by cable and phone-company competitors, DirecTV will offer video-on-demand for the first time, a combination of DVR and broadband-connected content with significant limitations. Because the biggest satellite-TV provider doesn’t use terrestrial connections, it’s been long unable to offer instant play options. Its new plan will store some... More »

MORE ABOUT:
DirecTV • Comcast • video on demand • DVR • satellite TV • streaming content

Liberty Looks to Leverage DirecTV Deal

In for a tough battle with better positioned telcos, cable companies

Feb 28, 08 9:26 AM CST
(Newser) - Closing Liberty Media’s $12 billion deal for a 41% share of DirecTV took more than a year, but positioning the satellite-TV service to rival telcos and cable companies offering triple-play packages of TV, phone, and broadband could be a bigger test, reports the Wall Street Journal today. The deal... More »

MORE ABOUT:
DirecTV • cable TV • Verizon • telecom industry • satellite TV • Liberty Media • News Corp • telcos

Getting the Word Out
on Digital TV

Broadcasters kick off $697 million campaign

Oct 16, 07 4:33 PM CDT
(Newser) - What's on TV? Soon, it will be an unprecedented $697 million campaign to get the word out on the upcoming switch to digital broadcasting. Starting February 18, 2009, viewers without a digital set or special converter box won't be able to watch TV. The upcoming educational campaign "may be... More »

MORE ABOUT:
television • satellite TV • digital television

Dish Network Parent Buys Slingbox

EchoStar will own
brand that puts TV on your PC

Sep 25, 07 3:45 PM CDT
(Newser) - EchoStar Communications, owner of the Dish Network, has agreed to acquire the maker of the Slingbox for $380 million. The satellite TV provider should close on the deal to buy Sling Media by year’s end, the AP reports. The Slingbox allows any Internet-connected computer to receive standard TV signals. More »

MORE ABOUT:
acquisition • DVR • satellite TV • EchoStar • Sling Media • Slingbox

Cubans Ignore Static on Illegal TV

Even committed commies crave US satellite shows despite Castro ban

Jul 12, 07 7:54 AM CDT
(Newser) - Cubans are turning to black-market satellite TV to watch soap operas, US news and music videos, and even the Chicago White Sox—in defiance of a national ban on the programs, the Christian Science Monitor reports. "If there is censorship, there is business," said one  provider who faces... More »

MORE ABOUT:
television • DirecTV • cable TV • Fidel Castro • Cuba • censorship • black market • satellite TV • Committee for the Defense of the Revolution • soap operas • VH1 • boob tube

Google Scores First Deal to Serve TV Commercials

Automated system allows advertisers to buy and track commercials

Apr 3, 07 9:32 AM CDT
(Newser) - Drunk with its success at dominating the internet ad business, Google wants to start serving up TV commercials, too. The first company to sign up is EchoStar Communications, a satellite TV provider which will announce today a deal with Google to broker commercials across its 125 TV channels. More »

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television • technology • Google • Internet • advertising • commercials • sattelite • satellite TV

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