AllThingsD » SATS

TiVo to DISH: Let's Do the Time Warp Again

John Paczkowski — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 22:00:20 +0000

It’s not the $974.5 million TiVo had been looking for, but the $200 million in sanctions against EchoStar’s DISH Network the company has been awarded isn’t exactly petty cash, either. On Friday, a U.S. District Court judge for the Eastern District of Texas ordered the satellite broadcaster to cough up that sum for its continued infringement of TiVo’s “multimedia time warping system” patent. This in addition to the $192.7 million EchoStar was ordered to pay for violating that same patent up to April 2008.

You see, DISH, though it had been barred from shipping DVRs with the patent-infringing functionality, continued to do so, justifying its behavior by claiming it had implemented a noninfringing workaround. But in June of this year, a court found that not to be the case. The court again reprimanded EchoStar (SATS) and ordered the company to pay TiVo (TIVO) $103 million in additional fines for the violations that occurred during the time in which the “workaround” was implemented. And now, it has added another $200 million to that.

TiVo, as one might imagine, was overjoyed by the ruling, which leaves open the possibility of further sanctions if EchoStar does not abide by the injunction.

“We are pleased by the Court’s ruling to impose contempt sanctions of approximately $200 million against EchoStar for its continued violation of a Court-ordered permanent injunction, and to award TiVo its attorney fees and costs incurred during the contempt proceedings,” the company said in a statement. “This brings total damages and sanctions in this case to approximately $400 million through July 1, 2009, plus attorney fees, and is exclusive of potential further damages and sanctions. Additionally, we are pleased that the Court ‘will seriously entertain the award of enhanced sanctions’ if ‘EchoStar is unsuccessful on appeal and nevertheless continues to disregard this Court’s orders.’”

Who knows, if DISH keeps it up, TiVo may get that $974.5 million yet.

TiVo to DISH: Let's Do the Time Warp Again

John Paczkowski — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 22:00:20 +0000

TiVo, as one might imagine, was overjoyed by the ruling, which leaves open the possibility of further sanctions if EchoStar does not abide by the injunction.

Who knows, if DISH keeps it up, TiVo may get that $974.5 million yet.

Books and Music That Make You Dumb

Marisa Taylor — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 16:39:41 +0000

Anyone who has ever sought to justify their own musical or literary taste may find some solace in the side project of Virgil Griffith, a 25-year-old Caltech graduate student known for embarrassing numerous corporations with his WikiScanner, a database that tracks the sources of anonymous edits to Wikipedia entries.

With his two Web sites (which have crashed from too much traffic), Booksthatmakeyoudumb.com and Musicthatmakesyoudumb.com, Griffith used aggregated Facebook data about the favorite bands and books among students of various colleges and plotted them against the average SAT scores at those schools, creating a tongue-in-cheek statistical look at taste and intelligence.

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Call Me Mel "Save-My-Own-Keister" Karmazin

John Paczkowski — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 15:49:06 +0000

Sirius XM (SIRI) is ready to seek bankruptcy protection. The company has warned investors that it’s prepared to file Chapter 11. It has hired bankruptcy and restructuring advisers. And it has filled out the necessary paperwork. But it may never file it.

“People familiar with the situation” tell The Wall Street Journal that Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin and satellite mogul Charlie Ergen are moving closer to an accord that would save the struggling satellite radio outfit from having to file Chapter 11. Apparently, Ergen has agreed to allow Karmazin to keep his job if he agrees to a deal, and that’s been concession enough to keep him at the negotiating table, though he continues to pursue an alternative, and perhaps fantastical, deal with Liberty Media (LINTA).

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Call Me Mel "Save-My-Own-Keister" Karmazin

John Paczkowski — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 15:49:06 +0000

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Sirius-EchoStar-Liberty: Ménage-à-Blah

John Paczkowski — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 20:16:56 +0000

As entertaining as news of a Sirius XM-EchoStar-Liberty Media three-way might be, research houses don’t appear to be giving it much credence. Already a few have issued reports dubious of the idea of Liberty accepting the white knight role in this debacle.

In a note to investors this morning, Collins Stewart analyst Thomas Eagan described the possibility of Liberty acquiring or even investing in the struggling satellite radio concern as “highly doubtful.” Explaining his skepticism, Eagan notes, “We do not believe that Liberty initiated the dialogue with [Sirius]. Additionally, we believe [DirecTV] management does not want [Sirius] combined with its operations. [DirecTV] certainly does not need it. Their operations lead the industry.”

Over at Barclays Capital, James M. Ratcliffe and Vijay Jayant are equally skeptical of an alliance between Sirius (SIRI) Liberty (LINTA). “Liberty involvement is more likely an effort by Sirius XM to attract a competing bidder, in our view–we don’t believe the company is fundamentally interested in becoming involved in the satellite radio business,” they wrote, adding that a Sirius bankruptcy is still a distinct possibility. “Chapter 11 would allow the restructuring of above-market OEM revenue share contracts and branded programming contracts, improving operating cash flows,” they explained. “On the other hand, it would result in aggressive competition among the various capital stakeholders and create a significant management distraction for as much as eighteen months.”

For Sirius, bankruptcy may be a more attractive option than cutting a deal with EchoStar’s (SATS) Ergen, but that’s not really saying much. Anyway, Sirius has about a week to decide between the two.

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Sirius: Give Me Liberty or Give Me Ergen

John Paczkowski — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 13:44:01 +0000

The Sirius XM fiasco is fast becoming high drama. Hoping to avoid bankruptcy and fend off an unsolicited takeover attempt from satellite mogul Charlie Ergen’s EchoStar, which has been acquiring its debt, Sirius has approached Liberty Media about a possible transaction. “People briefed on the negotiations” say talks between the two companies are advanced, but it’s not yet clear how much Liberty would be willing to invest in Sirius and whether it’s even interested in taking control of the company.

Like EchoStar (SATS), Liberty Media’s interest in Sirius (SIRI) revolves around the company’s physical assets–satellite and terrestrial repeaters, towers that bolster satellite radio services with Liberty’s DirectTV (DTV) satellite television services. Said Stanford Group analyst Fred Moran: “All of these companies are satellite-delivered media. If you can cross-market, cross-promote and intertwine services between satellite video and satellite audio, you could strengthen your competitive position.”

Question is, is Liberty Media (LINTA) interested in such a thing and is it willing to repay Sirius XM’s debts and buy out the company’s existing shareholders to do it? If it’s not, Sirius may well be forced into bankruptcy, which company officials reportedly claim is preferable to inking a deal with Ergen and EchoStar. Seems Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin can’t bear the thought of giving up control of the company to Ergen.

Sirius shares are trading higher this morning on the news after being viciously beaten down Wednesday by reports that the satellite radio company is mulling a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.

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Sirius Rolls Out New 24 Hour Investor Keening Channel

John Paczkowski — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 17:50:34 +0000

Apparently satellite mogul Charlie Ergen’s run at Sirius XM has been in the works for quite some time. Indeed, “people familiar with the situation” tell The Wall Street Journal that Ergen made an offer late last year to take control of struggling satellite radio outfit, but was rebuffed. His proposal: that one of his two satellite companies, EchoStar (SATS) or Dish Network (DISH), supply Sirius with enough capital to meet its debt obligations and avoid a bankruptcy filing. Clearly, then, Ergen isn’t looking to force Sirius into bankruptcy in order to claim its assets on the cheap, but rather because he sees it as a natural complement to his television operations.

Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin obviously doesn’t share that view, though he may soon come round.

With just a week or so left until its first round of debt obligations come due, Sirius (SIRI) is in a tight spot. As Karmazin told investors last week, the company needs to raise $175 million, and quickly. If it can’t, it will end up either filing for bankruptcy or cutting a deal with Ergen. Given that Karmazin himself invested $2.7 million in Sirius stock last summer, Karmazin may well opt for the latter. Unless, of course, another potential investor–say AT&T (T) or Liberty Media (LINTA)–comes sniffing around. Either way, it’s going to be a volatile and stressful week for Sirius investors.

Sirius Debt Problems? Call EchoStar! No Upfront Fees!

John Paczkowski — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 23:10:25 +0000

A quick update on Thursday’s Sirius/EchoStar story. People familiar with the matter tell The Wall Street Journal that the portion of Sirius XM Satellite Radio’s (SIRI) maturing debt that EchoStar (SATS) has purchased is a sizable one. It holds most of the $175 million tranche of debt that matures on Feb. 17 and more than half of a $400 million tranche coming due in December. Grand total: around $400 million.

Just why EchoStar is amassing this debt is unclear. It may be looking to take control of the company outright to gain its physical assets–satellite and terrestrial repeaters (towers that bolster reception of satellite signals). Or it could be setting the stage for some sort of alliance under which it would use those assets to help build a network for delivering mobile video in cars and consumer devices. A partnership is certainly a possibility. As a commenter on yesterday’s post noted, the companies may have an intermediary in former Sirius CEO Joseph Clayton, who sits on EchoStar’s board. Said Janco Partner analyst April Horace, “There clearly is a relationship and some triangularity between Sirius and Dish and EchoStar, taking into consideration that Joe Clayton now sits on the board of EchoStar. Joe knows Sirius like the back of his hand.”