Sky Angel to ditch satellite broadcasts, expand via Internet
Hot Off The Press
Sky Angel to ditch satellite broadcasts, expand via Internet
Company building corporate headquarters in Naples
By Laura Layden
Thursday, November 1, 2007
It seems the sky is the limit for Sky Angel.
Sky Angel is making plans to build a new corporate headquarters in Naples. Owned and operated by Dominion Video Satellite Inc., the company will end its existing Christian and family-oriented satellite service and begin airing its programming over high-speed Internet.
As it looks to build a new corporate headquarters in Naples, the company has its eye on the heavens. It’s moving toward a global expansion.
In the next few months, Sky Angel, owned and operated by Dominion Video Satellite Inc., will end its existing Christian and family-oriented satellite service and begin airing its programming over high-speed Internet. The technology is called IPTV, short for Internet Protocol Television.
It will allow the company to add more radio and TV channels and to offer new programming.
“What it really does is gives us the opportunity to eliminate much of the old equipment,” said Tom Scott, the company’s president and chief operating officer. “You don’t need the dish on your house anymore. You don’t even need anybody to install it.”
Customers will get a set-top box that connects to the TV. A computer isn’t required to get the service, just the Internet connection.
“It plugs in like a Game Boy,” Scott said.
The company has never owned its own satellites, and leasing them has been very expensive, he said.
Owning a satellite is cost-prohibitive and risky, he said.
“If a satellite breaks down, you can’t lift the hood and fix it,” Scott said. “You can’t send out an IT person to fix it.”
With the new technology, the company can expand from about 30 TV and radio channels to more than 70. Without it, expansion would have been next to impossible.
“We had limited capacity through satellite. We were only licensed for so many transponders, which allowed us to have only so many channels,” said Nancy Christopher, vice president for corporate communications.
In 2006, the company expanded its call center and relocated it to Cleveland, Tenn., along with its technical operations. The relocation was driven by the high housing costs here that made it difficult to find and keep workers, Christopher said.
But the company, founded in Naples, wanted to keep its home office here.
In the next few weeks, it will start building a new two-story headquarters off Goodlette-Frank Road just north of the post office. It will span 20,000 square feet.
“We are currently trying to figure out whether we want to lease out some of the space,” Christopher said. “We may end up taking all of it.”
At one time, Sky Angel planned to build a larger headquarters on 23 acres it owned off Collier Boulevard, near Cracker Barrel restaurant. But after running into permitting problems and relocating parts of its operations to Tennessee, the company put the land up for sale, Christopher said. About 10 acres are still on the market, she said.
Between Naples and Tennessee, the company now has about 115 employees. It will soon add more as it begins ramping up for its new IPTV service.
“We’ve had steady growth,” Christopher said. “We’ve been on the air for 10 years.”
With the IPTV service, customers will also get Video on Demand, giving them access to free and pay-per-view movies.
The set-box will allow customers to view programming up to 48 hours after it airs, without hitting the record button.
Now Sky Angel has one service for $14.99 a month.
With IPTV, the company will offer more service choices, including a package for $19.99 a month with 20 of the most popular family and educational channels. The lineup will include the Hallmark Channel and FOX News.
The first focus is on expanding in the U.S. Then the company will start exploring options for international delivery.
With more channels, the company plans to do more of its own programming. In June, it formed Sky Angel Productions LLC, headed up by veteran Emmy-award winning producer Kathleen Johnson, who has more than 20 years of television experience .
Dominion Video Satellite looked at the possibility of getting county incentives to help it build its new headquarters. But it couldn’t qualify because it didn’t meet the requirements for job creation and wages.
Tammie Nemecek, president of the Economic Development Council of Collier County, said while Sky Angel’s decision to relocate parts of its operations to Tennessee came as a disappointment, she’s glad the headquarters is staying here.
The council works to bring more high-wage, high-skilled jobs to the county.
“The corporate headquarters is definitely a target for us,” Nemecek said. “Usually they are not dependent on the local economy for revenue. Most of the times, it’s national or international headquarters.”
Hot Off The Press
Sky Angel to ditch satellite broadcasts, expand via Internet
Company building corporate headquarters in Naples
By Laura Layden
Thursday, November 1, 2007
It seems the sky is the limit for Sky Angel.
Sky Angel is making plans to build a new corporate headquarters in Naples. Owned and operated by Dominion Video Satellite Inc., the company will end its existing Christian and family-oriented satellite service and begin airing its programming over high-speed Internet.As it looks to build a new corporate headquarters in Naples, the company has its eye on the heavens. It’s moving toward a global expansion.
In the next few months, Sky Angel, owned and operated by Dominion Video Satellite Inc., will end its existing Christian and family-oriented satellite service and begin airing its programming over high-speed Internet. The technology is called IPTV, short for Internet Protocol Television.
It will allow the company to add more radio and TV channels and to offer new programming.
“What it really does is gives us the opportunity to eliminate much of the old equipment,” said Tom Scott, the company’s president and chief operating officer. “You don’t need the dish on your house anymore. You don’t even need anybody to install it.”
Customers will get a set-top box that connects to the TV. A computer isn’t required to get the service, just the Internet connection.
“It plugs in like a Game Boy,” Scott said.
The company has never owned its own satellites, and leasing them has been very expensive, he said.
Owning a satellite is cost-prohibitive and risky, he said.
“If a satellite breaks down, you can’t lift the hood and fix it,” Scott said. “You can’t send out an IT person to fix it.”
With the new technology, the company can expand from about 30 TV and radio channels to more than 70. Without it, expansion would have been next to impossible.
“We had limited capacity through satellite. We were only licensed for so many transponders, which allowed us to have only so many channels,” said Nancy Christopher, vice president for corporate communications.
In 2006, the company expanded its call center and relocated it to Cleveland, Tenn., along with its technical operations. The relocation was driven by the high housing costs here that made it difficult to find and keep workers, Christopher said.
But the company, founded in Naples, wanted to keep its home office here.
In the next few weeks, it will start building a new two-story headquarters off Goodlette-Frank Road just north of the post office. It will span 20,000 square feet.
“We are currently trying to figure out whether we want to lease out some of the space,” Christopher said. “We may end up taking all of it.”
At one time, Sky Angel planned to build a larger headquarters on 23 acres it owned off Collier Boulevard, near Cracker Barrel restaurant. But after running into permitting problems and relocating parts of its operations to Tennessee, the company put the land up for sale, Christopher said. About 10 acres are still on the market, she said.
Between Naples and Tennessee, the company now has about 115 employees. It will soon add more as it begins ramping up for its new IPTV service.
“We’ve had steady growth,” Christopher said. “We’ve been on the air for 10 years.”
With the IPTV service, customers will also get Video on Demand, giving them access to free and pay-per-view movies.
The set-box will allow customers to view programming up to 48 hours after it airs, without hitting the record button.
Now Sky Angel has one service for $14.99 a month.
With IPTV, the company will offer more service choices, including a package for $19.99 a month with 20 of the most popular family and educational channels. The lineup will include the Hallmark Channel and FOX News.
The first focus is on expanding in the U.S. Then the company will start exploring options for international delivery.
With more channels, the company plans to do more of its own programming. In June, it formed Sky Angel Productions LLC, headed up by veteran Emmy-award winning producer Kathleen Johnson, who has more than 20 years of television experience .
Dominion Video Satellite looked at the possibility of getting county incentives to help it build its new headquarters. But it couldn’t qualify because it didn’t meet the requirements for job creation and wages.
Tammie Nemecek, president of the Economic Development Council of Collier County, said while Sky Angel’s decision to relocate parts of its operations to Tennessee came as a disappointment, she’s glad the headquarters is staying here.
The council works to bring more high-wage, high-skilled jobs to the county.
“The corporate headquarters is definitely a target for us,” Nemecek said. “Usually they are not dependent on the local economy for revenue. Most of the times, it’s national or international headquarters.”
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It gives easy access to all those who already have the distribution network via cable modems and DSL. The number of subscribers to those services far outnumber rural customers and those with satellite only. Then there is the international component that expands it even further. It would probably be a good thing for this to succeed. If Cable and Satellite see this as a successful venture. Why wouldn't they start offering similar programming directly through their service. It has worked for Christian Music, Movies, Videos, Books, and Radio to be offered via mainstream/secular distribution methods. Television is the only thing that hasn't experienced this except with Sky Angel. Well maybe some kind of on a show by show basis "Touched By An Angel, 7th Heaven, 700 Club, Joel Osteen, etc. Sky Angel is attempting to be the mainstream "Pay" television network service equivalent of Christian Music, Movies, Videos, Books, and Radio. If you desire a free and all donation supported network then Glorystar will fill that void. 
