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2008 Year in Review: Satellite TV partnerships remain important

Dan O'Shea — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 16:12:42 -0500

As IPTV offerings expand and continue to collect subscribers, what is to become of the satellite TV partnerships that helped telcos get started in the TV business? Not much, apparently, if activities in 2008 suggest anything. AT&T started the year with two satellite TV partners, DirecTV and Dish Network, that it received in its BellSouth acquisition. AT&T decided to let its partnership with DirecTV end, then later decided to extend its Dish partnership through the beginning of next year, but then ultimately decided to forge a new long-term resale partnership with DirecTV after the Dish deal ends in early 2009.

AT&T and other telcos continued to see good growth from these resale arrangements, which remain significant bundle elements, so it doesn't look like the satellite partnerships will be pushed out of the picture by wireline telco TV offerings anytime soon. Meanwhile, the satellite companies themselves had up and down years. At one point it looked like AT&T could acquire Dish, and there was speculation how AT&T's early break with DirecTV would affect that company. But by the end of the year, the speculation had flipped completely. At the time AT&T chose DirecTV for the long run, that deal gave DirecTV partnership with the three former Bell companies, and we suggested Dish had no "major" telco partners at all. Analyst Bernie Arnason argued that wasn't the case, since Dish actually has partnership with the next four largest telcos after the big three.

So, maybe the old DirecTV/Dish satellite war is alive and well, and if telco TV efforts take a hit from the down economy, the importance of satellite TV partnerships may yet increase.

AT&T chooses DirecTV over Dish

Dan O'Shea — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 20:16:46 -0400

AT&T, perhaps looking to head off speculation about its satellite TV plans after last week's extension of its resale partnership with Dish Network, has announced that DirecTV will be its sole satellite partner starting in February 2009. It may seem like a surprising choice, given that AT&T just extended the Dish arrangement and previously had stopped re-selling DirecTV in the former BellSouth region, but the carrier had maintained a stance all along that it was evaluating its options.

With the ongoing success of IPTV, it is not clear how much longer a satellite TV partnership will be important to the telco. It sells bundles that include satellite TV and has way more satellite TV customers (2.1 million) than IPTV customers (549,000, as of the second quarter), but IPTV has been closing the gap.

Meanwhile, as cable TV and telco TV players knock heads, and DirecTV benefits from ongoing partnerships with the big telcos, you have to wonder what will come of Dish Network. The company's parent, EchoStar, last year was rumored to be close to getting acquired by AT&T, and now Dish has no major U.S. telco partners at all.

For more:
- read this story at The Wall Street Journal

AT&T expands IPTV in Florida, shuts down cable in Alabama

Dan O'Shea — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 10:08:45 -0400

AT&T continues to expand into new IPTV markets, already announcing this week that it is rolling out U-verse TV service in South Bend, Ind., and in Jacksonville, Fla. The Jacksonville launch is of particular note, as its one of the few former BellSouth markets to get AT&T's IPTV treatment--Atlanta and the South Florida area around Miami being the others.

As the carrier tries to lure 1 million IPTV customers by year's end, it will not be surprising to see more markets in the former BellSouth region get access to the service. Meanwhile, AT&T also reportedly has shut down a cable TV service that originally had been operated by BellSouth in one Alabama community, following up on an intention it announced earlier this year. The affected Alabama municipality of Vestavia Hills, however, already has approved AT&T as an IPTV provider, so expect a launch there sooner rather than later.

For more:
- read this post at DSL Reports
- see this report at DSL Reports

Related articles:
AT&T is aiming for 1 million U-verse TV subs this year. AT&T report
AT&T added 148,000 U-Verse TV subs in the first quarter. AT&T report