The Securities and Exchange Commission has approved the proposal from SoftBank to buy out Sprint. While shareholders in the US carrier are expected to discuss and vote on the deal at a meeting next month, the chairman of Dish Network has made comments against the proposal, citing the need for Sprint's network to be upgraded by US teams.
The CEO of SoftBank believes there is no need to change the Japanese carrier's offer to Sprint, following a secondary offer from Dish Network. Masayoshi Son, also the founder of the company, told the audience of an earnings briefing "There is absolutely no need for that since we believe our offer is above theirs."
Dish Network has announced it wishes to merge with Sprint, at a cost of $25.5 billion. The proposal from the satellite service provider could potentially derail the current attempt by Japanese carrier SoftBank to purchase Sprint, a deal worth around $20 billion that has been in progress since October last year.
After being blocked in its first attempt to legally enjoin Dish Network's Hopper DVR pre-trial, Fox Broadcasting has asked a federal judge to stop customers from "place shifting" video content to smartphones and computers with the new Hopper with Sling. The suit, filed in Los Angeles, demands Dish disable the "rebroadcasting" of all content from the set top box before a trial which has yet to be scheduled.
Executives at CBS have forced CNet to remove Dish Network's Hopper from its CES awards, due to ongoing lawsuits. CNet's parent company apparently wanted the awards changed shortly after a ban on products by companies CBS was in litigation with came into effect, and forced the change on the editorial team, leading one reporter to announce their departure.
The second generation of Dish Network's whole-home DVR system was announced today at the Consumer Electronics Show -- the Hopper with Sling. The new unit allows customers to watch live and recorded television anywhere on Internet-connected tablets with the newly-integrated Sling technology, and move recorded television to an iPad for viewing without an Internet connection using the free Hopper Transfers app.
Following the unanimous approval of Dish Network's waiver to build out a LTE network in a congested area of bandwidth, details have become available detailing the restrictions the buildout will be under. According to the FCC, Dish must complete 40 percent of the proposed network within four years, and 70 percent within seven. If the 70 percent requirement isn't met, then Dish will be prohibited from offering service in the missed area.
The world's largest search engine has made changes to its image search algorithm, changes that make it a bit more difficult to find explicit content in the course of a simple search. Google rolled out the changes for its main US site today, and the changes apparently have yet to filter down to its international sites. The changes, apparently, were first discovered by social news site Reddit, and they make it so that users will have to be a bit more explicit in their searches in order to turn up pornographic and not-safe-for-work content.
Sprint, the United States' third-largest wireless carrier, has approached Dish Network about a partnership that would see Dish offering mobile service over Sprint's network. Sources familiar with Sprint's offer say that the deal would give Sprint access to Dish's mobile airwaves, with the two companies sharing revenue from customers signing up for wireless service from Dish. The satellite TV provider has been moving toward wireless service provision for some time, though regulatory obstacles have hindered its progress.
Blockbuster is planning to diversity its business into mobile phone sales as a test for owner Dish Network's planned entry into the wireless business, according to sources familiar with the matter. The effort will begin in Blockbuster's 850 surviving retail locations shortly, with the once-giant movie-rental business selling phones from Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel, and T-Mobile.
Federal Communications Commission chairman Julius Genachowski proposed that the agency greenlight Dish Network's ongoing effort to move into providing wireless communications services. Genachowski expressed his support on the grounds that DIsh's entry into the wireless sector would stoke competition in a segment that, in the United States, is verging on duopoly. Dish Network executives, though, are unsatisfied with the FCC's current proposal for allowing them into the wireless arena, saying the FCC's plan would make it "extremely risky" for them to enter the sector.
Google is rumored to be in talks with Dish Network over creating a new wireless carrier, competing against Verizon and AT&T. Though it is not clear if a Google-supported mobile phone network will come to fruition, the software giant's move to wireless mirrors early discussions it had over its gigabit fiber project in Kansas City, and could potentially end up disrupting the mobile carrier industry.
Dish Network has settled its lawsuit with Voom HD, allowing AMC back on Dish as of last night. The channels were initially dropped due to claimed high costs for AMC channels despite a relatively low viewership, though it appears more connected to a separate wireless spectrum-related lawsuit that has now ceased.
Dish Network is reportedly preparing to rollout satellite broadband service to complement its existing television services. The company already offers satellite broadband in a limited number of markets, as part of a collaborative partnership with California-based communications company ViaSat, however the upcoming service is said to utilize EchoStar satellites and coverage across the entire contiguous US.
Fox, NBCUniversal, and CBS have all filed suit independently against Dish Network over the new AutoHop service, which with the right set-top box allows viewers to automatically skip commercials, assuming the recorded content isn't watched on the day of broadcast. The broadcast networks call the DVR technology a violation of their copyrights, a danger to quality programming, and an assault on their financial ecosystem. In an effort to counter the separate legal attacks, Dish has filed a countersuit against the three, plus ABC, in an attempt to establish the legality of advertisement skipping.
Dish Network has warned the Federal Communications Commission that it may not be able to meet initial deployment goals for its LTE-Advanced network until 2016 or later. In a filing with the FCC (PDF), the satellite company is asking regulators to modify their official guidelines to accomodate a lengthier buildout schedule.
Earlier today, Dish Network introduced streaming music service Pandora as an enhancement to the Hopper Whole Home HD digital video recorder (DVR) system. Either a new account or an existing account can be used with the upgrade. A persistent internet connection is required to access Pandora content.
TiVo picked an SEC filing to disclose that it had fired back against a 2011 Motorola lawsuit with one of its own. The new complaint, which also includes Motorola customer Time Warner Cable, accuses the two of violating its key Time Warp patents, including for simultaneous DVR recording and watching, converting TV to digital video, and performing functions on a live stream. The filing, as it wasn't a court document, was short on details.
The FCC in an Open Commission Meeting Wednesday morning unanimously voted to pursue possibilities for significantly improving 4G's use in the US. It would verify whether there would be any adverse effect to making the 700MHz A, B, and C blocks of spectrum interoperable, letting one roam on the other. Agency officials would want outside input on what the rules would be if there were little to no interference, as well as whether any interference might be cut back.
Dish Network has reportedly begun selling its Hopper whole-home DVR system, which was first unveiled early this year at CES. The system centers around the Hopper, a set-top box that integrates a 2TB drive, and smaller 'Joey' units that serve as extenders to distribute the video throughout a home.
The FCC on Friday delayed a decision whether or not Dish could get a waiver for a satellite-free version of its proposed 4G phone network. The agency decided that the "rulemaking process" was necessary for the public good. It didn't give details of when a decision was expected, although claims by a pair of Reuters sources had a decision targeted for the end of the year.
Dish Network chairman Charlie Ergen believed his company had an 80 percent shot at succeeding with its potential 4G phone network. It hinged on the FCC giving the LTE network a waiver to run, but he called it both a core part of Dish's plans. Cellphone service could even be a "transformative strategy," Ergen said.
Dish Network had an unusually strong presence at CES this year and gave us time to try its new Hopper DVR system. The three-tuner box is one of the more aggressive recorders we've seen and can record as many as six shows at once through a unique trick: it loads the four major US TV networks (ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC) on one tuner during prime time hours. It's hard to tell if there's any compression artifacts from the recorded shows on those networks, but it looked good in the controlled conditions of the CES floor.
Early details on Dish Network's planned CES unveiling of a home DVR dubbed Hopper have been revealed. It will be a rebrand of EchoStar's next-generation XiP satellite whole home DVR hardware (XiP 813), which gets extender units called Joeys (XiP 110). It's said to have three tuners and a built-in 2TB hard drive.
Chipmaker Broadcom has made a few significant deals this week, partnering with Sling Media for its EchoStar set-top technology and with Myriad for the Alien Vue solution. The deals could result in a Broadcom system-on-chip that may allow set-top boxes for TVs that run Android apps and aren't limited to home Wi-Fi networks. Thus far, only Dish Network allows place-shifting in Sling's Slingbox set-tops.
AT&T isn't making any progress in its attempts to sell T-Mobile assets to rescue its attempted buyout of T-Mobile, insiders uncovered Sunday. Discussions with smaller carriers have reportedly "gone cold," the Wall Street Journal heard. Among other problems, attempts to sell assets to Leap for its Cricket service fell as doubts existed that even this could salvage AT&T's proposed T-Mobile merger.
Dish Network has indicated that it might be interested in acquiring assets from either AT&T or T-Mobile if their proposed $39 billion merger fails to go through. This insight came from Dish's CEO Joseph Clayton in an interview with Bloomberg. Dish has already expressed interest in acquiring customers and spectrum if US regulators require AT&T to divest any such assets in order to allow the deal to be completed.
Dish is contemplating a TV streaming service that could be an end-run around costs for traditional TV, according to possible new leaks. The strategy as explained to the Wall Street Journal would see channels from "several" studios licensed for paid streaming online to help make it cheaper to adopt Dish's TV service. Some of the cost would come from excising sports channels it's normally required to carry from the cheapest Internet pricing plans, as they often cost disproportionately much more than other stations.
Yahoo is reportedly out of the increasingly uncertain bidding process for Hulu, a claimed leak said late Sunday. The search engine has allegedly been identified by the WSJ sources as the original mystery bidder but also to have exited entirely. The internal turmoil following Carol Bartz' firing and the possibility of a sell-off were attributed to the departure.
Wireless carrier Sprint has filed an ex parte letter (PDF) with the FCC, asking it to bring the proposed AT&T buyout of T-Mobile to a hearing overseen by an administrative law judge. While the FCC is still deliberating a final decision on the matter, its objection would result in just such a hearing. Sprint is trying to speed up the process and ask the FCC to deny the merger.
Sources say that Dish Network is the frontrunner in the bid to buy Hulu, beating out Google, Amazon, and Yahoo. Its offer is reportedly in the range $1.9 billion. Other bidders may have been put off by Hulu's plans to move away from its free, ad-supported model or the lack of certainty about the availability of content. For instance Google's bid was in the $4 billion range according to sources, but came with the demand that the networks continue to provide programming after their current contracts expire in a few years.
The CEO of Dish Network, Joseph Clayton, said in an interview on Monday that the company could be looking into partnering or acquiring a wireless carrier. He floated to Bloomberg the prospect of getting either Sprint or Clearwire. The Dish executive admitted, however, that his company also need to secure wireless infrastructure, more technological capabilities, and distribution.
Dish Network made a bet on Internet video Friday with Blockbuster Movie Pass. The service bundles satellite TV with mailed movie, TV, and game rentals as well as Internet streaming. Pitched as a rival to Netflix and Qwikster, it takes advantage of the Blockbuster rights and TV streaming to give a wider catalog of Internet video; 10,000 movies in total will stream to TVs and computers, including from Starz and others who have held out on Netflix to shelter their TV business.
Dish's ambitions for a major Internet movie service were confirmed late Monday after the company sent invitations to a special event for Friday, September 23. The "stream come true" gathering in San Francisco will be broadcast online from 1PM Eastern that day. Little is known about the exact details, but the satellite TV provider was confident it would have the "most comprehensive home entertainment package ever."
Google's bid for Hulu may involve a much more elaborate prospect than anyone else, insiders gave out Tuesday. Amazon, Dish, and Yahoo are all offering conventional bids of up to $2 billion, but Google is now thought to have said "there's enough money" for a much more involved deal. Tips to AllThingsD didn't identify what the intentions were, but the amount was enough that Hulu would have normally thrown it out were it not for the cash involved.
Dish Network is planning a big push into direct competition with Apple, Netflix, and other big Internet video services through its acquisitions, two leaks showed Friday. One scoop had it one of just three companies clearing the
The Dish Network has just revealed some details on an upcoming product for TV watchers on the move such as campers or football fans, theself-contained Tailgater. It contains an HDTV satellite dish and receiver and will retail for $350. The dish inside the enclosure will automatically align itself as needed to pick up signals.
Dish Network is asking the FCC to allow it to combine the S-Band spectrum licenses it acquired with its $1.38 billion purchase of TerreStar Networks and DBSD North America to offer terrestrial-only devices. This is part of a larger goal of offering a satellite-terrestrial 4G network that uses LTE-Advanced. Dish claims this hybrid network that will use the 40MHz spectrum under a subsidiary called Gamma will help meet the FCC's goal of expanding broadband access. Dish cited the conditional waiver the FCC gave to LightSquared as a reason it should get its request granted.
Fox on Tuesday night set out to shelter traditional TV with a long hinted-at plan to delay TV shows on Hulu for non-subscribers. Free viewers will face an eight-day delay for access to Fox TV shows unless they either pay for Hulu Plus or can prove they subscribe to a conventional TV service. Only satellite provider Dish Network is so far cleared to give users same-day access in the strategy, which starts up August 15.
A US Bankruptcy Court in NY has approved Dish Network's proposed purchase of TerreStar. The deal has been valued at $1.38 billion. The main asset that Dish will be getting is the bankrupt satellite communications provider's 20MHz of wireless spectrum.
Dish Network's hopes to buy out TerreStar may have come true as reports have surfaced Tuesday that it's now the only bidder for the satellite smartphone creator. A deadline Monday night has passed with only a nearly $1.38 billion bid from Dish still around, giving it a near-certain win. Cellular carrier MetroPCS had considered a bid to get much-needed wireless spectrum, Reuters says, but has since backed out for unknown reasons.
Dish Networks is close to reaching an agreement to purchase bankrupt satellite smartphone provider Terrestar Networks for $1.2 to $1.4 billion, according to a Reuters report on Tuesday. Terrestar declared bankruptcy in October of last year and its assets include wireless spectrum.
Dish Network, which has recently announced the purchase of Blockbuster, has now said it would take on leases for about 500 of the video-rental's stores as of Tuesday. The papers were filed this past weekend with the US Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York, with a hearing planned for Thursday. After recent store closings, Blockbuster now has nearly 1,700 stores operating in the US.
Dish said Wednesday that it had won an auction to buy Blockbuster. The satellite TV provider said it had offered $320 million, about $228 million of which was in cash, to beat out competitors like investor Carl Icahn and SK Telecom. Bids had gotten as high as $310.6 million, from Icahn, before Dish landed the final price.
The bidding to buy out Blockbuster now includes Dish Network and well-known activist investor Carl Icahn, insiders claimed Friday. The two are both supposedly making just the minimum bid, around $290 million, to qualify for the auction before it starts in earnest on Monday. The WSJ in scraping information was warned that new bidders could come into play or make unions with each other.
Dish Network has announced that it is now selling Google TV packages based on Logitech's Revue set-top box. Confirming an earlier leak, the company will subsidize the device to bring the price down to $179 for Dish customers who pay for the $4/month DVR service.
Dish Network has stopped selling its DTVPal DVR, after weeks of offering it at discounted prices. There are no plans to replace it, according to the company. The device was championed as the only affordable over-the-air ATSC dual-turning DVR on the market, with prices running no higher than $250.
Google's increasingly rumored Google TV media hub may be consciously designed to avoid frightening cable and satellite providers if a new leak bears fruit. Rather than serve as a complete replacement for a TV set-top box, it would have its own HDMI input and daisy-chain from an existing piece of equipment. The Android device would take information from the TV provider's own device but would be marketed as a way of bringing the Internet and apps to an existing setup that could carry a subscription premium.
A US District Court for Eastern Texas on Thursday affirmed a contempt ruling against Dish Network and sister company EchoStar Corp in their long-term patent case versus DVR maker TiVo. The verdict maintains that Dish and EchoStar failed to comply with an earlier court-ordered permanent ruling that had the two cease the production and sale of DVRs. TiVo sued EchoStar in 2004, where a jury found in favor of the former.
Sling today caught up to its absence from the remote streaming world with four new devices. Unique among these is the Touch Control 100; the handheld serves as a 4.3-inch touchscreen remote to steer DVRs and Slingboxes either through infrared or through the local network with Wi-Fi. When linked to a DVR, it can show a cable or satellite provider's programming guide and use that for picking channels.
