Word: dishing
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They have been around for a couple of decades, clunky-looking status symbols from an era before Al Gore had even heard of the information highway. The sight of a 6-ft. satellite dish on the front lawn traditionally signaled one of two things: here is a house so far away from civilization that the cable company won't even bother coming, or here is a homeowner rich enough to afford the most expensive toy in the media supermarket...
...serious challenge to cable may come from direct-broadcast satellites (DBS). A consortium of telecommunications companies that includes GM Hughes Electronics, RCA/Thomson and Hubbard Broadcasting has just completed a nationwide roll-out of its Digital Satellite System, which offers 150 channels to customers who buy and install a home dish only 18 in. in diameter. Though the hardware is still relatively expensive -- between $700 and $900, down from $2,000 to $3,000 for older big dishes -- the monthly cost of various channel packages is comparable to cable's. The chief competitor to DSS is Primestar, a four-year...
...most obvious market is the 10 million to 12 million homes, largely in rural areas, that are not reached by cable. (About 3.6 million of these currently have one of the older-generation big dishes.) But why would an urban cable customer be induced to switch to a dish? The home-satellite companies are trumpeting their higher-quality picture and CD-quality sound, as well as a larger array of channels. Primestar, for example, offers a package of 14 regional sports networks that provide college football games on Saturday, and DirecTV will soon offer pro fans a full complement...
Media analysts forecast that the industry will pick up 8 million to 10 million customers by the year 2000. Early sales reports from DSS's initial campaign have been encouraging: according to the backers, dishes have sold out in the 41 states where they have been marketed, and 28% of the early buyers are cable subscribers. (Only 12% retained their cable after getting a dish.) Still, many industry observers are cautious. Tom Wolzien, an analyst with Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., a New York City investment firm, predicts that dbs might steal away 1% of cable's growth over the next...
Fans are going to have to accept management's unwillingness to dish out the dough. They're going to have to get used to not signing the mega-contracts...