DIRECTV's CEO: What HD DVR Delay?
DIRECTV CEO: HDTV Delay 'Overblown'
Nation's top satcaster defends its inability to deliver a High-Definition TV recorder on time.
By Phillip Swann
Washington, D.C. (July 26, 2006) -- DIRECTV's CEO and President Chase Carey says concerns about the satcaster's delay in launching a High-Definition TV recorder are overblown.
Carey made his remarks in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
DIRECTV has pushed back the launch date for its new HDTV DVR several times, most recently moving it to the Fall. EchoStar, DIRECTV's chief satellite rival, and most cable TV operators already offer a HDTV recorder. (DIRECTV now offers a TiVo HD DVR, but it will not record high-def channels scheduled to be added to DIRECTV's new satellites; in other words, it will soon be obsolete.)
Asked if DIRECTV subscribers and Wall Street analysts are upset that it has failed to deliver the new high-def recorder, Carey said:
"We feel good about where we are there. But we have to be looking to develop the next generation. There are cost and scale advantages to doing it with other companies. There will be opportunities for unique alliances."
Despite Carey's comments, a Wall Street analyst said this week that the delay could force high-def owners to sign up for another service.
And that could hurt the satcaster's subscription growth and stock price.
"We're skeptical investors will continue to give DIRECTV a free pass," Sanford C. Bernstein analyst Craig Moffett said yesterday in a note to investors.
The satcaster has offered several launch dates for the new HD DVR, but has failed to deliver.
Moffett said HDTV owners may not be willing to wait for DIRECTV to release the high-def recorder -- and expand its HD lineup. DIRECTV now offers fewer than 10 national HDTV channels while rival EchoStar provides 29.
DIRECTV last year made headlines by announcing that it would launch four new satellites over two years that would enable it to provide 150 national HD channels -- and local HD channels in most markets -- by 2007. But thus far, DIRECTV's primary focus has been on adding the local high-def channels. The satcaster has added just two national HD channels in the last year -- ESPN 2 HD and TNT HD.
Swanni Sez:
Carey's comments are inexcusable. Instead of trying to defend the indefensible, he should be apologizing to his subscribers for failing to deliver the HD recorder on time -- or should I say -- any time. The vague promise of launching the device in the Fall is not reassuring.
The question now is: Will DIRECTV's HDTV subscribers just sit there and take it.
And click TVPredictions.com to see the rest of today's Swanni Sez.
© TVPredictions.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Phillip Swann is president and publisher of TVPredictions.com. He has been quoted in dozens of publications and broadcast outlets, including CNN, Fox News, Inside Edition, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, The Financial Times, The Associated Press and The Hollywood Reporter. He can be reached at swann@tvpredictions.com or at 703-505-3064.
And click TVPredictions.com to read more news and features on TV technology.
Nation's top satcaster defends its inability to deliver a High-Definition TV recorder on time.
By Phillip Swann
Washington, D.C. (July 26, 2006) -- DIRECTV's CEO and President Chase Carey says concerns about the satcaster's delay in launching a High-Definition TV recorder are overblown.
Carey made his remarks in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
DIRECTV has pushed back the launch date for its new HDTV DVR several times, most recently moving it to the Fall. EchoStar, DIRECTV's chief satellite rival, and most cable TV operators already offer a HDTV recorder. (DIRECTV now offers a TiVo HD DVR, but it will not record high-def channels scheduled to be added to DIRECTV's new satellites; in other words, it will soon be obsolete.)
Asked if DIRECTV subscribers and Wall Street analysts are upset that it has failed to deliver the new high-def recorder, Carey said:
"We feel good about where we are there. But we have to be looking to develop the next generation. There are cost and scale advantages to doing it with other companies. There will be opportunities for unique alliances."
Despite Carey's comments, a Wall Street analyst said this week that the delay could force high-def owners to sign up for another service.
And that could hurt the satcaster's subscription growth and stock price.
"We're skeptical investors will continue to give DIRECTV a free pass," Sanford C. Bernstein analyst Craig Moffett said yesterday in a note to investors.
The satcaster has offered several launch dates for the new HD DVR, but has failed to deliver.
Moffett said HDTV owners may not be willing to wait for DIRECTV to release the high-def recorder -- and expand its HD lineup. DIRECTV now offers fewer than 10 national HDTV channels while rival EchoStar provides 29.
DIRECTV last year made headlines by announcing that it would launch four new satellites over two years that would enable it to provide 150 national HD channels -- and local HD channels in most markets -- by 2007. But thus far, DIRECTV's primary focus has been on adding the local high-def channels. The satcaster has added just two national HD channels in the last year -- ESPN 2 HD and TNT HD.
Swanni Sez:
Carey's comments are inexcusable. Instead of trying to defend the indefensible, he should be apologizing to his subscribers for failing to deliver the HD recorder on time -- or should I say -- any time. The vague promise of launching the device in the Fall is not reassuring.
The question now is: Will DIRECTV's HDTV subscribers just sit there and take it.
And click TVPredictions.com to see the rest of today's Swanni Sez.
© TVPredictions.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Phillip Swann is president and publisher of TVPredictions.com. He has been quoted in dozens of publications and broadcast outlets, including CNN, Fox News, Inside Edition, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, The Financial Times, The Associated Press and The Hollywood Reporter. He can be reached at swann@tvpredictions.com or at 703-505-3064.
And click TVPredictions.com to read more news and features on TV technology.
2 Comments:
It is now Oct. 2 and this DVR has been released far before it was ready. Direct TV technical staff have told me they are having "software issues" which is a major understatement I have to rebbot the box every other day unless I actually try and watch someting I recorded then I have to reboot at least twice an hour. Steer clear of this service until they get it right.
It's 10/24 and I have placed an order for the unit (which was taken and accepted) over a month ago. They have cancelled two installation dates and finally confessed they do not have the units in-stock. I don't mind waiting, but at least do not setup an install date unless you have the equipment to install. Calling and informing me the night before the install is unnacceptable and intrusive to work schedules.
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