EchoStar Chief Says Satellite Deal Will Move Forward

[Bruce]

The only reason I am posting this over here is because this is about Rainbow-1
fredfa posted this at AVS:
EchoStar Chief Says Satellite Deal Will Move Forward
By Jay Sherman TVWeek.com March 17, 2005

EchoStar Communications Chairman Charlie Ergen said Thursday he is confident that the planned purchase of Cablevision's lone satellite by EchoStar will go forward despite speculation that Cablevision Chairman Charles Dolan might be trying engineer a scuttling of the sale.

"The only thing preventing us from acquiring that satellite is not getting [Federal Communications Commission] approval." Mr. Ergen said during an analyst call to discuss EchoStar's 2004 financial results. "We intend to move forward with the transaction." He added that he expects approval within three to six months.

EchoStar and Cablevision in February reached an agreement under which EchoStar was to pay $200 million for Rainbow 1, a satellite used in Cablevision's struggling satellite business Voom.

The sale agreement took place against the backdrop of an internal fight at Cablevision over whether to fund Voom. Cablevision Chairman Charles Dolan has lobbied for continued Cablevision backing, while his son, CEO James Dolan, has sought to shut down the service. However, both sides have agreed to give Charles Dolan until March 31 to obtain financing for Voom, and some analysts have suggested Charles Dolan might try to cancel the sale of the satellite to EchoStar in order to ensure continuity of service.


And there has been News stories about Mr.Dolan flying to Colorado to see Ergen to get the bird back or lease it back, again as I, and everyone else have said, why would Charlie Ergen help Charles Dolan, it is not in his nature, based on past actions.

 

[jbphoenix]

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And there has been News stories about Mr.Dolan flying to Colorado to see Ergen to get the bird back or lease it back, again as I, and everyone else have said, why would Charlie Ergen help Charles Dolan, it is not in his nature, based on past actions.

Charlie Ergen don't even want to help his customers, much less anyone who might be in competition with him!

 

[GreatMac]

..."The only thing preventing us from acquiring that satellite is not getting [Federal Communications Commission] approval."...

Ah, but this just may be enough

If the FCC decides that it is in the consumers' interest to preserve the only real HDTV competitor (Voom), this will throw a wrench in Charlie's plan.

The Big Two (D* and E*) have clearly been reluctant to invest in HDTV and without serious competition will likely remain so for the foreseeable future (but will keep making vague promises about leading the way to 500+ HD channels).

I hope the FCC is as serious about letting the consumer be able to see HDTV, as it is about preventing us from seeing JJ's nipple.

 

[gutter]

Or Charlie and chuck have made a deal for a lease so that the sale will go through and HD can be made available to all...including DISH subs. Wild speculation? You bet it is.

 

[BFG]

The FCC wont block it and require cablevision to continue to lose money when they want out of the business. And Charles E* wont do anything with Dolan that causes Ergen to lose money. Ergen is strictly a profit-only guy, and a smart and rich man for that approach...

 

[LunkHead]

I would imagine that Dolan was not that dumb and that his (Dolan's) lawyers probably put some type of exit clause in the sale contract.... This is just speculation on my part but I can't see the deal being as closed as some may think.....

 

[Bruce]

3/17 E* Earnings call:
HDTV is a strategic advantage for DBS companies. DirecTV is being more aggressive with it, while Dish is approaching it from a financial standpoint, and whether it will make them money.

This is also in Sean's sig, and at the last Charlie Chat 4 days ago he reminded everyone that watched it that the deal was for the bird and he said no for the Voom programing.
If he did want to carry more HD, he does not need Voom for that, he could carry UniversalHD, MaxHD, etc anytime he wants, to him, the Voom programing means 40,000 subs, which to him means no money.

 

[Bruce]

I would imagine that Dolan was not that dumb and that his (Dolan's) lawyers probably put some type of exit clause in the sale contract.... This is just speculation on my part but I can't see the deal being as closed as some may think.....

Charles Dolan had nothing to do with the sale, James Dolan did, and the sale agreement is in a SEC report, the only way out is if both E* and Cablevision agree to cancel it.

 

[GreatMac]

The FCC wont block it and require cablevision to continue to lose money when they want out of the business...

But it may block it if the HDTV business (Voom) is spun off and sold to Dolan Sr., who wants it to stay in business.

Then the argument that the sale is detrimental to consumers may have a bite.

 

[GreatMac]

...the only way out is if both E* and Cablevision agree to cancel it.

Hm, did you actually look at the termination provisions?

 

[abarnes]

"The only thing preventing us from acquiring that satellite is not getting [Federal Communications Commission] approval." Mr. Ergen said during an analyst call to discuss EchoStar's 2004 financial results. "We intend to move forward with the transaction." He added that he expects approval within three to six months.

If Charlie E expects the sale to take three to six months for approval then Maybe Charlie D can get everyone moved over to rainbow 2 before the sale takes place. No need to lease the sat back from E* and they both get what they want.

Just my .02 cents.

 

[vurbano]

If Charlie E expects the sale to take three to six months for approval then Maybe Charlie D can get everyone moved over to rainbow 2 before the sale takes place. No need to lease the sat back from E* and they both get what they want.

Just my .02 cents.

Thats the way I see it too. Get the new dish on my roof.

 

[BFG]

But it may block it if the HDTV business (Voom) is spun off and sold to Dolan Sr., who wants it to stay in business.

Then the argument that the sale is detrimental to consumers may have a bite.

No, because Dolan Sr. has no control over what Cablevision has already chosen to do with the satellite they own. The FCC can't stop the sale because some third party wants to keep the other voom assests going.

 

[James Long]

Hm, did you actually look at the termination provisions?

The satellite sales agreement is a matter of public record. It is redacted, but not so much that it prevents one from knowing the terms.

The FCC must approve the deal within 12-15 months or the deal is off.
BOTH parties must do everything needed to work TOWARD FCC approval and all the other provisions of the contract. No welching on the deal other than:
The deal can be cancelled by mutual agreement of both parties (E*/Cablevision).

JL

 

[jbphoenix]

The FCC wont block it and require cablevision to continue to lose money when they want out of the business. And Charles E* wont do anything with Dolan that causes Ergen to lose money. Ergen is strictly a profit-only guy, and a smart and rich man for that approach...

If the Govt. offered a substantial 5 year tax break to big satellite and cable companies who offered a certain amount of HD programming packages, E* would be the first one to jump on board... Unfortunately, this will probably never happen. The Govt. did give PBS stations around the country grants for their HD stations to promote the growth of HDTV, but you can only watch a certain amount of documentaries over and over again...
I have been a subscriber to V* since Feb. 2004 and I am hoping that C. Dolan can make his bid to continue V* a reality. I live in AZ and I am considering writing a letter to Sen. John McCain concerning my disappointment with satellite and cable companies and their lack of willingness to bring more HD programming to the public.. May not make any difference, but then again, the FCC was established to make sure the public was served in their best interest by Broadcasters, so I figure if we don't speak up, then we will still be at the mercy of large satellite and cable companies holding the technology back for years to come. After all, the large networks, CBS, NBC, ABC, WB and even UPN and FOX are now providing more and more HD content, so why can't the PAY TV services start providing more content!?

 

[mdonnelly]

... I live in AZ and I am considering writing a letter to Sen. John McCain concerning my disappointment with satellite and cable companies and their lack of willingness to bring more HD programming to the public.. May not make any difference, but then again, the FCC was established to make sure the public was served in their best interest by Broadcasters, so I figure if we don't speak up, then we will still be at the mercy of large satellite and cable companies holding the technology back for years to come. ...

You know, Congress doesn't give a hoot about HDTV. What they ARE interested in is DIGITAL TV. They want to recover the analog spectrum and auction it off. They couldn't care less if broadcasters want to put HD on their digital signal or not.

 

[GreatMac]

The satellite sales agreement is a matter of public record. It is redacted, but not so much that it prevents one from knowing the terms... No welching on the deal other than:
The deal can be cancelled by mutual agreement of both parties (E*/Cablevision).

JL

The point of redacting IS precisely to prevent you from knowing the terms.

If it was as simple as "no welching", they would have saved themselves the legal fees and have you draft the agreement.

As it is, we don't know the terms, so there is no point to speculate.

 

[mdonnelly]

...As it is, we don't know the terms, so there is no point to speculate.

Since we don't know the terms, we can do nothing BUT speculate.

 

[GreatMac]

No, because Dolan Sr. has no control over what Cablevision has already chosen to do with the satellite they own. The FCC can't stop the sale because some third party wants to keep the other voom assests going.

Dolan Sr. has in fact quite a bit of control over Cablevision. If it is determined that cancelling the sale agreement pursuant to its termination provisions and including it in the assets to be sold to Dolan Sr. would be in the best interest of Cablevision and its shareholders, then the sale can be terminated.

The FCC wont block it and require cablevision to continue to lose money when they want out of the business

I think you are wrong about this. The government imposes costly obligations on companies all the time (e.g., DTV shareholders wanting out of a loosing business and willing to sell to E*). The FCC may determine that this specific sale (to E*) would be detrimental to consumer interests, and that will be that.

 

[gutter]

3/17 E* Earnings call:
This is also in Sean's sig, and at the last Charlie Chat 4 days ago he reminded everyone that watched it that the deal was for the bird and he said no for the Voom programing.
If.

Bruce this is not a flame but a question. I read the Charlie Chat and I did not read that he said an deliberate and emphatic no to VOOM programming. What I read was he said that the deal was only for the bird and that his desire was to put HD on that bird once he owns it. (Hard to tell with all the ummm and Huhs in his song and dance."

Sincerly, Can you quote from the Chat that VOOM HD or any original programming he said no too? I will have to admit, I may have missed or misread it a few days ago.

Thanks