Share prices for Dish Network parent EchoStar have taken a dive in the days since the company published its second quarterly earnings report, revealing about $2 billion in debt due over the next three months.

Currently, stock for the media giant is trading at $16.23, with overall share price down more than 14% in the past five days.

Before EchoStar reported its earnings Friday, shares for the company were up as high as $20.

Also Read: Dish and Sling TV Revenue Collapses, Down a Record 10% in Q2

That disparity inspired investment banking giant JP Morgan to drop EchoStar’s investment outlook Monday from neutral to underweight.

EchoStar, which closed Q2 with $521 million in cash and cash equivalents, confirmed in its financial results that it does not have the cash to pay off its debts.

However, the company is in discussion with outside parties to compensate for its cash shortage, and is working to refinance its debt obligations.

Also Read: EchoStar Posts Q2 Loss as It Sheds 104,000 Pay TV Subscribers

“We continue to make progress and are in constructive discussions with counterparties, which we feel best support our objective,” Dish CEO Hamid Akhavan told investors on Friday. “The complex and delicate nature of this process demands time and confidentiality. We will certainly have more to share in due course.” 

Akhavan emphasized the use of EchoStar’s spectrum assets, many of which it gained after acquiring Dish Network at the beginning of this year, as a possible point of sale to recover some financial runway.

According to Akhavan, the only reason the company hasn’t used its spectrum assets as collateral is because it has yet to secure a desirable deal.

Veteran analyst Craig Moffett has a less optimistic outlook — according to a report published by MoffettNathanson, he believes that auction dynamics for the company’s spectrum holdings are “unfavorable for a host of reasons.”

Even more, Moffet believes that EchoStar’s shares are “likely to be worthless,” and predicts that the company may see bankruptcy by the end of the year.

Revenue for Dish Network and Sling TV was collectively down a record 10% year-over-year, according to parent company EchoStar’s second quarterly earnings report.

EchoStar posted $2.67 billion in pay TV revenues, down from $2.97 billion a year ago.

Also read: EchoStar Posts Q2 Loss as It Sheds 104,000 Pay TV Subscribers

That’s due in part to 182,000 Dish subscribers, who decided from April through June to discontinue their service, putting the company in what equity-research firm MoffettNathanson called “free fall.”

At the close of the quarter, the subscriber base for Dish’s core satellite-TV business was shrinking at a 12% rate, worse than the 11.8% decline at the end of last quarter.

Also Read: EchoStar Posts Q2 Loss as It Sheds 104,000 Pay TV Subscribers

Sling TV at least, reported a gain of 78,000 subscribers during Q2.

As it stands, EchoStar has roughly 8.07 million remaining pay TV subscribers, including 6.07 million Dish TV customers and 2 million Sling TV subscribers.

EchoStar and its high-profile chairman, Charlie Ergen, are investing billions of dollars trying to complete a national 5G wireless network just as its core revenue engine runs out of steam. 

“We’ve made our view clear. We see EchoStar’s odds of success as a wireless operator to be vanishingly small,” MoffettNathanson analyst Craig Moffett said in a report issued today about EchoStar’s Q2 results. “We believe EchoStar is instead highly likely to go bankrupt, quite possibly by the end of the year.”

EchoStar has cut costs to compensate for its declining revenue, but pay TV EBITDA for the quarter still dropped $753 million, an 8% decrease year-over-year.

“Dish’s pay TV business simply isn’t large enough to be the cash generation engine that keeps the larger enterprise afloat,” Moffett wrote.

In the 12th straight quarter of decline, consolidated EBITDA fell to just $442 million, down 29% year-over-year.

EchoStar said it lost 104,000 pay TV subscribers in the quarter, finishing with 8.07 million customers. In the first quarter, it lost 348,000 subscribers.

The company had 6.07 million Dish TV satellite-TV subscribers, down from 6.26 million at the end of Q1 and 2 million Sling TV subscribers, up from 1.92 million. 

The company posted a net loss of $205.6 million, or 76 cents a share, compared to net income of $212.7 million, or 69 cents a share a year ago.

Revenue fell 9% to $3.952 billion from $4.356 billion a year ago.

Operating income before depreciation and amortization for Echostar’s pay TV business was $735 million, down from $818 million a year ago. Pay TV revenue was $2.676 million, down from $2.975 million.

“The EchoStar team continued to perform as planned in the second quarter of 2024. We directed efforts on aligning key business synergies and objectives, focusing on profitable customer acquisition and retention efforts, and making improvements in our go-to-market approach for Retail Wireless,” CEO Hamid Akhavan said. “In addition, we are in constructive discussions to address necessary financing, working to strengthen our consumer offerings and value propositions, enhancing our state-of-the-art Open RAN network, and driving profitability across the enterprise.”

EchoStar said it lost another 348,000 pay TV subscribers so far this year, closing the first quarter with 8.18 million subscribers. That total includes 6.26 million Dish Network satellite-TV subscribers and 1.92 million Sling TV virtual multichannel video programming distributor (MVPD) customers.

The company said the losses resulted from its emphasis on acquiring higher-quality subscribers.

Operating income before depreciation and amortization for EchoStar’s pay TV business dropped to $755.5 million from $777.6 million a year ago. Pay TV revenue fell to $2.7 billion from nearly $3 billion a year ago.  

Overall, EchoStar said it lost $107.4 million, or 40 cents a share, in the quarter, compared to net income of $253.5 million a year ago, or 82 cents a share.

Total revenue dropped 9% to 4.01 billion.

“The EchoStar team performed as planned in the first quarter of 2024. We concentrated efforts on integrating the EchoStar and Dish Network businesses in order to maximize synergies and cost savings, facilitate growth opportunities, and drive operational alignment,” CEO Hamid Akhavan said. “Overall, ARPU increased in every business unit and customer satisfaction has improved. In addition, the business continues to focus on addressing necessary financing, improving our position in retail wireless, densifying and expanding the wireless network, maximizing our profitability with the newly launched EchoStar XXIV/Jupiter 3, and acquiring higher-quality pay TV customers.”

The future looks more bleak for EchoStar with every quarterly report. And with the Dish Network parent company reporting a $2.03 billion loss in Q4, along with the loss of 314,000 more pay TV customers and 123,000 retail wireless subscribers, EchoStar itself is now conceding the gravity of its own situation.

In a 10-K filing with the SEC late last week, the Englewood, Colorado-based telecom said: “Because we do not currently have committed financing to fund our operations for at least twelve months from the issuance of these consolidated financial statements, substantial doubt exists about our ability to continue as a going concern. We currently intend to use cash on hand and cash flow from operations to pay the March 2024 debt maturity. However, we do not currently have the necessary cash on hand and/or projected future cash flows to fund the November 2024 debt maturity and subsequent interest on our outstanding debt.”

Analyst Craig Moffett, a decided EchoStar/Dish bear, called the company's situation “dire,” adding: “Revenues are spiraling lower, EBITDA is in free fall, and Dish is now hemorrhaging cash. Even without adding additional debt, the declines in EBITDA have left EchoStar’s post-merger leverage ratio even higher than the stand-alone leverage at Dish Network in Q2 that pushed Dish into the merger.”

Moffett added: “The debate around EchoStar/Dish Network no longer includes any serious discussion about whether Dish Network can succeed in the wireless business; that question has seemingly been answered. Today’s results for both the wireless and satellite-TV businesses, which come in the wake of recent attempted-and-failed debt restructurings, only add an exclamation point to what has been a years-long slide. Gradually, then suddenly.”

Certainly, Friday’s earnings call didn't inspire any renewed confidence within the equity analyst community, with chairman Charlie Ergen unavailable, ostensibly celebrating his 71st birthday. 

Hamid Akhavan, appointed as EchoStar CEO just three months ago, responded with the comments below when asked if the company could meet an FCC requirement to cover 75% of its spectrum license areas with 5G cellular by 2025. (Here’s a copy of the earnings call transcript.)

“We have made substantial progress towards meeting our goals for 2024 — 2025, the milestones at 2025,” Akhavan said. “Depending on our success and our fundraising, which I mentioned earlier, we could meet those milestones. But having said that, it is my personal opinion that, that doesn’t really translate into a competitive offering for the American consumers, which has been the intent of the FCC. That milestone certainly is within reach once we — if we manage to get our fundraising, but I don’t think it’s going to change the picture in the nation in a significant way.”

Pay TV subscriber losses accelerated at EchoStar, which now includes Dish Network, contributing to a huge fourth-quarter loss.

Net pay TV subscribers fell by 314,000 to 8.53 million. The company lost 64,000 subs in the third quarter and 268,000 in the year-ago quarter. 

Dish Network satellite subscribers fell to 6.47 million from 6.82 million in the third quarter.

Subscribers to virtual multichannel video programming distributor Sling TV dropped to 2.06 million from 2.12 million last quarter. 

Pay TV revenue fell 12% to $2.8 million from $3.2 million a year ago.

The company blamed the net decrease in revenue on subscriber declines, most significantly in the pay TV segment.

Overall, EchoStar had a loss of  $2.03 billion, or $7.48 a share, in the fourth quarter. A year ago, EchoStar had net income of $984 million, or $3.21 a share.

The company said the loss was primarily attributable to a non-cash goodwill-impairment charge of $758 million, and an adjustment to the carrying value of the 800-MHz purchase option totaling approximately $1.6 billion.

Revenue fell 8% to $4.16 billion.

In the quarter, retail wireless revenues fell to $899.3 million from $928.1 million as the company lost 123,000 subscribers.

Broadband and satellite service revenue dropped to $449.8 million from $499.9 million. Broadband subscribers were down 59,000.

“We closed the year with the completion of the merger with Dish Network,” CEO Hamid Akhavan said. “The transaction combined Dish Network's satellite technology, streaming services, engineering expertise, retail wireless business and nationwide 5G network with EchoStar's premier satellite communications solutions, enterprise go-to-market capabilities and U.S.-based manufacturing.

“Collectively, it creates a global leader in terrestrial and non-terrestrial wireless connectivity and entertainment services,” he said. "With the close of the merger, we will continue to integrate our business and realize savings and operational efficiencies. We also will increase our focus on identifying and targeting the best, most profitable customers in each of our addressable market segments — Pay TV, Retail Wireless and Broadband and Satellite Services."

Michael Kelly, head of Dish Network’s troubled mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) efforts, will step down at the end of the month after about ten months on the job. Kelly was executive VP and head of Dish’s retail cellular division, which included Boost Mobile, Boost Infinite and Gen Mobile. CEO Hamid Akhavan will take over day-to-day operations for the retail wireless sector while the company hunts for a successor.

His abrupt departure comes just as Dish announced that its Boost Wireless Network is now covering more than 200 million Americans nationwide with 5G voice or Voice over New Radio (VoNR).

This is actually Kelly’s second outing with Dish. He first joined the company in 2000 as an aqui-hire when Dish bought his Kelly Broadcasting Systems. When Dish acquired Blockbuster’s assets at a bankruptcy auction in 2011 for about $320 million, Kelly was appointed president of the troubled video rental business. In 2013, Dish decided to shutter all remaining Blockbuster rental outlets and in 2015, Kelly retired from the company.

He was lured back last April to lead Dish’s wireless efforts.

When Dish acquired the Boost brand from T-Mobile for $1.4 billion in 2019, Boost had about 9 million subscribers. At the time, Dish also pledged to pay $3.6 billion over three years to buy 800 Megahertz wireless spectrum from T-Mobile-Sprint. As of Dish’s November Q3 report, Boost’s subscriber rolls had shrunk to 7.5 million.

Also read: As Dish Reportedly Grows ‘Desperate’ to Raise Cash to Build Its 5G Network, the ‘B Word’ Increasingly Gets Thrown Around

Dish’s new corporate parent EchoStar is struggling to a refinance the massive debts incurred by Charlie Ergen’s quixotic quest to build a nationwide 5G cellular phone and data network from scratch to compete with the big three incumbents – AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile.

Dish has reportedly spent roughly $6 billion just to build its new 5G network.  

What’s changed since Ergen began this epic quest over a decade ago to transform Dish from a satellite pay TV service into the nation’s fourth wireless carrier is that the mobile industry has rapidly become a zero-sum game where there are few untapped customers left in the market and subscriber growth can only come at the expense of a competitor, leading to cut-throat competition. With companies bundling up discounted streaming services to entice customers and practically giving away phones, just about anyone who wants a mobile phone can get one. Even the pay-as-you-go market is saturated with offerings.

After closing on his re-merger of Dish Network and EchoStar last week, company chairman Charlie Ergen outlined Wednesday a series of strategic asset shifts that shield certain spectrum assets, as well as the cash generated by about 3 million Dish pay TV subscribers, from existing creditors. 

Wednesday’s EchoStar press release said the moves “further unlock incremental strategic, financial and operating flexibility for its business following completion of its merger” with Dish Network.

EchoStar also announced that it has hired financial advisory group Houlihan Lokey and law firm White & Case LLP to help it evaluate “potential strategic alternatives,” which could include the possible sale of EchoStar Wireless.

EchoStar investors seemed to react favorably to the news, which divides the company's spectrum assets between Dish Network and a new entity called “EchoStar Wireless Holding LLC.” EchoStar stock spiked more than 35% as of midday trading Wednesday.

But in an investor note headlined, “Making Sense of the Inscrutable,” equity analyst Craig Moffett labeled the announcement “bewilderingly complicated,” while noting the conspicuous absence of a follow-up conference call by Ergen and his team to explain the “why” behind the moves. Moffett also referenced the collapse of the Dish Network bond market, with investors worried about the company's more than $20 billion of debt. 

Trying to make sense of what spectrum goes into what bucket, Moffett noted that the EchoStar press release indicates that “unencumbered” spectrum bands are being placed in the newly created EchoStar Wireless Holdings.

But “unencumbered” does not mean, in this case, that the spectrum is part of the Justice Department's T-Mobile-Sprint merger-related consent decree, which restricts Dish from selling the spectrum to AT&T, Verizon or T-Mobile through 2026. 

“The encumbrance that EchoStar is referring to appears simply to be whether a given band has already been used as loan collateral,” Moffett wrote. 

So essentially, Moffett believes EchoStar is simply optimizing the positioning of its assets to ensure that as much cash and credit are available as possible as Ergen continues his financially perilous quest to build out a national 5G wireless network from scratch. 

“What is most important here is that the assets simply aren’t being divided up in a way that would facilitate a sale,” Moffett wrote. 

As Bloomberg noted, “Shuffling assets and creating unrestricted subsidiaries are often preludes to money-raising deals that hurt existing creditors by weakening their claims to collateral.”

John Dixon, a managing director and bond trader at brokerage Dinosaur Financial Group, told the news service, “These kinds of maneuvers often result in what we call creditor-on-creditor violence, where new lenders appear and provide funds backed by the same assets that were just taken from the reach of existing debt holders.”

Charlie Ergen has completed the reunification of his satellite empire, with a merger officially closing that makes Dish Network a wholly owned subsidiary of EchoStar. 

Chairman Ergen and his fast-changing executive team are trying to fuel an expensive transition from a failing core pay TV operation into a full-fledged 5G wireless business, and they're billing the move as a connectivity play.

“This merger brings us one step closer to our goal of offering ubiquitous connectivity to people, enterprises and things, everywhere,” said Hamid Akhavan, the recently appointed president and CEO of EchoStar, in a statement.

But what the deal really does is buy a little time for Dish, which is burning through $2 billion of cash annually and had been cut off from capital markets. 

Also read: As Dish Reportedly Grows ‘Desperate’ to Raise Cash to Build Its 5G Network, the ‘B Word’ Increasingly Gets Thrown Around

The EchoStar satellite business was spun off from Dish back in 2008 — back when Dish touted nearly 14 million satellite TV customers. These days, Dish has fewer than 9 million subscribers spread across its core satellite TV operation and the lower-margin Sling TV vMVPD business. 

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) were down 58% year-over-year through the third quarter. 

Also read: Struggling Dish Network Lays Off More Than 500 Workers

Dish is also the middle of a challenging swim, trying to build from scratch a 5G wireless network. Its short- and long-term debt has reached $24.6 billion, and it’s estimated the company will need around $16 billion more through 2026 to keep operating and building. 

EchoStar provides Ergen with around $1.9 billion in cash and an additional $265 million in free cash. 

Following Dish’s rough third-quarter earnings report, equity analyst Craig Moffett predicted the company will wind up in bankruptcy within the next few years, even with the EchoStar merger.

“Against this dire picture, the cash on EchoStar's balance sheet — there can be no argument that the merger was conceived simply for access to a bit of cash to keep Dish going a little longer — is little more than a drop in the bucket,” Moffett wrote. 

Dish Network has purchased more pieces of EchoStar, the company announced.

In an all stock deal valued at $800 million, Dish will acquire nine direct broadcast satellites, licensing for the "61.5-degree orbital slot” and some real estate properties.

The latest agreement follows a 2017 pact in which Dish bought EchoStar set-top box development, Sling TV technology, software development employees and U.S. satellite TV ground infrastructure.

"In 2017, when Dish acquired the EchoStar assets that we needed to deliver the Dish TV and Sling TV customer experiences, key broadcast satellite operations and services remained with EchoStar," said Dish president and CEO Erik Carlson, in a statement. "This transaction brings those operations, including the BSS satellites, associated assets and key team members, in house and we expect those additions will create operational efficiencies and improve both free cash flow and EBITDA."

EchoStar’s Hughes Networks Systems unit is making progress on a new broadband satellite that will be capable of delivering speeds of 100 Mbps-plus across a footprint covering the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Brazil and other countries in South America.

Hughes has tapped Space Systems Loral to build the high-density satellite, called Jupiter 3 (or EchoStar XXIV). The project is in the “preliminary design phase,” with the design review milestone expected to be complete by the first half of 2018, Pradman Kaul, president of Hughes, said Thursday on EchoStar’s Q3 earnings call.

Service on Jupiter 3 is expected to launch in 2021, and complement the Jupiter 1 and 2 satellites, while also providing some capacity and coverage for the Eutelsat 65 West satellite and Telesat 19V.

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Kaul noted that beam coverage from Jupiter 3 will be optimized where it anticipates the most demand, rather than going with an approach that provided uniform blanket coverage. The satellite itself will serve all of Hughes’s traditional markets, such as consumer, enterprise, cellular backhaul and community WiFi.

Hughes and EchoStar are pushing ahead with Jupiter 3 amid increased competition from Viasat, which is nearing the launch of services on ViaSat-3, a broadband satellite that will deliver speeds of 100 Mbps or more and support unlimited data plans.

RELATED: ViaSat-2 Satellite Deemed ‘Ready for Service’

As Hughes works on Jupiter 3, it’s satellite broadband customer numbers continue to rise almost a year after the service debut of its Gen5 offering that can deliver speeds of up to 25 Mbps downstream, and 3 Mbps upstream.

EchoStar/Hughes added about 68,000 satellite broadband subs in Q4, up from 18,000 in the year-ago period, ending the year with about 1.2 million, a number that includes retail, wholesale and business customers.

Hughes is also involved in OneWeb, a platform that will use a constellation of low-earth orbit satellites to deliver services into rural areas, and counts Intelsat, Virgin Qualcomm, SoftBank and Hughes among its investors.

RELATED: FCC OKs OneWeb Satellite Broadband Service

In addition to its investment, Hughes is also providing gateway equipment for OneWeb’s ground network under a contract that, so far, totals more than $300 million.

Though Hughes’s relationship with OneWeb is currently hardware-centric, it’s also working on other arrangements that would give Hughes rights to offer services on OneWeb’s LEO network, Anders Johnson, chief strategy officer and president of EchoStar Satellite Services, said.

EchoStar Corp. said the EchoStar 105/SES-11 has reached its 105 degree West orbital position and is now available for commercial service.

The new bird is a high-powered, hybrid Ku and C-band communications satellite for EchoStar and SES with a 24x36 Ku-band payload. It replaces the capacity that EchoStar previously offered via the AMC-15 satellite.

Built by Airbus Defence and Space, the satellite is based on the Eurostar E3000 platform, and will add Ku-band coverage for North America and be capable of supporting apps that include video distribution, data communications and backhaul services.

EchoStar 105/SES-11 was launched on Oct. 11, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 vehicle from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

“EchoStar 105 provides coverage of the 50 U.S. states and offers increased reach to the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean,” Anders Johnson, chief strategy officer of EchoStar and president of EchoStar Satellite Services, said in a statement. “We are excited to be able to offer the tailored Ku-band capacity of this high-powered satellite to our current and prospective customers in the enterprise, media and broadcast, and U.S. government service provider markets.”

Hughes Network Systems, a unit of EchoStar, tallied 53,000 new satellite broadband subs in Q3 2017, extending that total to 1.14 million and improving on a year-ago decline of 12,000 subs.

As of September 30, Hughes had about 340,000 subscribers on its new Gen5 platform, which delivers up to 25 Mbps down and 3 Mbps up. Gen5, which entered service in March, and delivers speeds that are aligned with the FCC’s current definition of “broadband.”

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“We continue to believe that the market for satellite broadband in the United States remains large, and [represents] over 18 million households, with about half of these being unserved and the other half underserved by existing wireline technologies,” Pradman Kaul, Hughes’ CEO and president, said on Wednesday’s earnings call.

He noted that the satellite broadband market here has fewer than 2 million subs, so Hughes still believes that there’s “significant opportunities for material growth” in that segment.

But some analysts aren’t impressed with Hughes's current rate of growth. One on today’s call asked why Hughes hasn’t been able to secure more customers and if more marketing or partnerships were needed to move the needle.

Pradman said Hughes is pleased with its progress, but is also hopeful that those sub numbers will rise more rapidly as it sees improvements in churn.

He said earlier in the call that new Gen5 service has helped to improve churn, and that it’s seeing strong demand in areas covered by DSL.

Michael Dugan, EchoStar’s president and CEO, added that the company is also being careful to ensure that it’s getting the “right consumers” on board.

"We’ve learned some hard lessons from other businesses,” Dugan said. “We could increase the number of gross ads and even net adds, but in the long term some of those subs won’t stick with us. We are very focused on the right sub base.”

Pradman continued to downplay the threat posed to Hughes from fixed wireless broadband services.

“The impact of wireless is limited because as we see growth of LTE and 5G, frequencies they are operating in and the markets they're operating in involved in are not markets we are going into…We continue to go after the unserved and underserved markets, where we don't see an expansion of the 5G and the LTE networks.”

Looking ahead, Hughes has contracted Space Systems Loral to build a next-gen satellite – EchoStar XXIV/Jupiter 3 -- that will enable the company to offer speeds of 100 Mbps or more in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Brazil, as well as other parts of South America. 

RELATED: ViaSat 2 Launches With Big Broadband Potential

Pradman noted that the new satellite, which isn't expected to launch until early 2021, will use beam coverage to reach areas where it anticipates the most demand, rather than using it for uniform blanket coverage.

“Our new satellite will be the engine that powers our future growth,” he said.

EchoStar Corp. and Lockheed Martin said this week that one of the older satellites in EchoStar’s fleet has been successfully recovered following an unspecified “anomaly” that occurred in July that caused communications with the bird to be interrupted.

Per FCC regulations, that satellite, EchoStar III, has been retired and placed into “graveyard orbit,” they said.

RELATED: EchoStar Loses Contact With Older Satellite

"After the initial loss of contact, with a joint effort by EchoStar and Lockheed Martin, a command and control link was reestablished and deorbit maneuvers performed," Derek de Bastos, chief technology officer for EchoStar Satellite Services LLC, said in a statement.” "EchoStar III is now safely in a graveyard orbit more than 350 kilometers above the geostationary arc with its fuel and pressurants depleted, batteries drained, and systems shut down."

EchoStar III, a Ku-band BSS satellite, provided coverage over the U.S., and is a “fully depreciated, non-revenue generating asset.”

The satellite, launched in 1997 and built by Lockheed Martin, exceeded its 15 year design life, EchoStar said.

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"Because of the robustness of the A2100 satellite design, our teams were able to command all the necessary recovery actions," added Barry Noakes, commercial satellite chief engineer at Lockheed Martin.

Hughes Network Systems, a unit of EchoStar, said this week it’s eyeing broadband speeds of 100 Mbps and more via new high-density satellite that’s expected to launch in early 2021.

Hughes, which ended Q2 with 1,085,000 satellite broadband subs, has tapped Space Systems Loral to build the next-gen Jupiter 3 bird, which will be designated “EchoStar XXIV.”

The new satellite will target “key markets” across the Americas, including the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Brazil and other countries in South America, and will more than double the Hughes Ka-band capacity in the region, the company said.

Plans for the new satellite come more than two months after ViaSat launched ViaSat2, a high-powered satellite with 300 Gbps of total throughput that will also eye service tiers of 100 Mbps and more. ViaSat 2 is expected to enter into service in early 2018, with services slated to get underway in Q4 of the company’s fiscal 2018.

RELATED: ViaSat 2 Launches With Big Broadband Potential

Hughes launched its HughesNet Gen5 service in March and has been upgrading subs to the speedier platform, which matches a 25 Mbps downstream with a 3 Mbps upstream and is powered by EchoStar XIX/Jupiter 2, a multi-spot-beam, Ka-band satellite made by Space Systems Loral that launched in December 2016.

Though Hughes has largely focused on rural areas, it’s seeing opportunities where DSL service is weak, Peter Gulla, Hughes’s SVP of marketing, told Multichannel News in a recent interview.

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“Right now, 25 [Mbps] seems to be meeting the needs of our customers,” he said at the time. “But that doesn’t mean that’s the end of the line.”

The appeal of satellite broadband services have been limited somewhat by restrictive data caps and latency issues that impair interactive services such as VoIP and multiplayer gaming. In some instances, satellite broadband players are also expected to see more competition from speedier LTE and next-gen 5G-based fixed wireless data offerings.

Hughes president Pradman Kaul downplayed the severity of the 5G threat on EchoStar’s Q2 call.

“The problem is that the amount of bandwidth available at that spectrum is… in smaller pieces of bandwidth,” he said, according to Space Intel Report. They won’t be competing with us directly because we’re going up to 100 megabits per second. In the low end of the spectrum that 5G will be using, that’s not a competitor. Then you go into the millimeter-wave spectrum, the 28-, 30-, 37-GHz pieces. There, the cell sizes are very small, but they will be focused in the urban areas, where we don’t compete.”

ViaSat ended its fiscal Q1 with 625,000 residential broadband subscribers. The company attribute that loss, of about 34,000 subs, to a mix of seasonality, Hughes’s new Jupiter 2 satellite as well as unlimited mobile wireless services.

Following a multi-day delay caused by high winds, the SpaceX Falcon 9 launched successfully early Thursday from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, carrying the EchoStar XXIII satellite into orbit.

RELATED: High Winds Ground EchoStar XXIII Satellite

SpaceX delayed Tuesday’s original launch date of Falcon 9, which was carrying EchoStar’s new Ku-band broadcast satellite services satellite, which was constructed by Space Systems Loral.

SpaceX announced on Twitter that the deployment of XXIII to a geosynchronous transfer orbit was a success:

Successful deployment of @EchoStar XXIII to a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit confirmed. pic.twitter.com/LpPWLo8YMN

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) March 16, 2017

A replay of the launch can be viewed here.

The initial commercial deployment of EchoStar XXIII, which reportedly has a design life of 15 years, is slated to be at 45° West.

Space.com notes that the satellite, to be positioned above the equator at 45 degrees west longitude, will initially provide broadcast, internet and other communications services to Brazil.

High winds caused SpaceX to delay Tuesday's scheduled launch of Falcon 9, an expendable rocket that will deliver the EchoStar XXIII satellite into orbit.

The launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in  Florida is being moved to Thursday, according to multiple reports.

Constructed by  Space Systems Loral (SSL), EchoStar XXIII is Ku-band broadcast satellite services satellite with four main reflectors and multiple sub-reflectors supporting multiple mission profiles, according to Colorado-based EchoStar. 

SpaceX announced the decision to scrub the launch, which originally had a launch window starting Tuesday at 1:34am ET, on Twitter:

Standing down due to high winds; working toward next available launch opportunity.

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) March 14, 2017

The initial commercial deployment of EchoStar XXIII, which reportedly has a design life of 15 years, is slated to be at 45° West.

SpaceX was founded by Elon Musk in 2002.

Hughes Network Systems said it is closing in on the launch of HughesNet Gen5, a national satellite Internet service outfitted with monthly data plans that will meet the FCC’s current defined speeds for “broadband” – 25 Mbps downstream by 3 Mbps upstream.

RELATED: FCC Ups Sec. 706 Broadband Speed to 25 MbpsHughes, a unit of EchoStar Corp., said it the new 25-meg offering will live on March 16 and come with data plans ranging from 10 gigabytes to 250 GB per month. Pricing on the HughesNet Gen5 residential service starts at $49.99 per month, with data plans that include up to 50 Gigabytes per month. Business plans for that tier start at $69.99 per month, with data plans up to 250 GB. The service includes in-home/location WiFi.

If customers exceed their monthly data limits, continues at a “reduced speed” until the next billing cycle. Per the policy for the current HughesNet Gen 4 service, speeds are reduced to 150 kilobits per second when the monthly data allowance is exceeded.

The Gen5 offering will also support a “Bonus Zone” that includes 50 GB of free data per month for use in the off-peak hours of 2 a.m. to 8 a.m. The service also includes an optional Video Data Saver that adjusts data rates for streaming video to DVD quality and enables more viewing of shows and movies while using less bandwidth. Customers also have the ability to temporarily opt out of the video quality feature for a period of four hours.  

The faster offering, to be available across the continental U.S. and part of Alaska, is powered by the recently launched EchoStar XIX satellite along with the EchoStar XVII satellite, and underpinned by the Hughes Jupiter satellite networking platform. From its 97.1° orbital slot, EchoStar XIX’s 138 beams provide coverage for high-speed Internet service to homes and small businesses in the continental United States, Alaska, Mexico and parts of Canada and Central America.

“HughesNet Gen5 will bring a new level of Internet services to the approximately 18 million households across the United States that are either unserved or suffering from slow wireline Internet services,” Pradman Kaul, president of Hughes Network Systems, said in a release.”

Hughes ended 2016 with 1.03 million broadband subs.

Every time I ask my tween daughter to straighten up her room – and I mean every time – I am greeted with a puzzled look and the following question: “Why, is someone coming over?”

While that may say more about an 11-year-old’s idea of hygiene than I care to make public, that was precisely the question that came to mind when I first heard that Dish Network was consolidating some of the hardware and software assets of its sister EchoStar Communications. While Dish said in statements that the moves would give it end-to-end control of its over-the-top service, Sling TV, the timing appears odd (just as the wireless incentive auction moves through its late rounds) and it just smacks of getting the house ready for company.

Dish has been long thought to be a target of Verizon Communications, the wireless powerhouse (114 million customers) that appears to be in search of video distribution assets. Dish certainly has them – it had about 13.6 million satellite TV subscribers in the third quarter – as well as a swath of wireless spectrum that would fit in nicely with the phone company’s own wireless network.

A lot of people had thought that Verizon would eventually buy Dish – much like its rival phone company AT&T bought DirecTV in 2015 – but regulatory and timing issues aways seemed to get in the way. Now with a President that appears to be ready to wield a teeny, tiny, itty-bitty regulatory hand when it comes to mega deals, that combination seems like it would be much easier to do.

Does transferring EchoStar’s satellite, set-top and fiber backhaul operations to Dish, and off-loading the lightly-subscribed-to dishNet satellite business to EchoStar clear the decks for a potential buyer? Maybe. But it wouldn’t be too difficult to buy the whole thing and just sell off the chaff later.

Cleaning up the house is never a bad thing. It does at least remove a few steps from any deal. For example, consolidating 100% of Sling TV into Dish – about 10% was held by EchoStar – saves any potential suitor from having to do that later.

Dish stock, which fell last week when the rumor of the day was that Verizon was eyeing Charter Communications – and since disputed by many – was up 3.3% ($1.97 each) Wednesday, closing at $61.14 per share, after going as high as $61.92 per share earlier in the day (up 4.6%). EchoStar shares were up even more, climbing as high as $55.67 per share (up 9.3%) before closing at $55.06 each (up $4.13 each, or 8.1%). So, at least some investors are thinking that something may be in the works.

They are not alone.

“We believe Dish is likely one of the companies that could feel the greatest degree of urgency in trying to combine with a wireless network owner, post the conclusion of the auction,” Barclays media analyst Kannan Venkateshwar wrote in a note to clients Wednesday. “With the asset swap today, Dish appears to be concentrating its wireless assets into one entity along with technology assets that can potentially help with video offerings like DirecTV Now.  In case Dish does contemplate a transaction with a wireless operator, this mix of assets could further help the overall strategic positioning of a potential combination.”

According to reports, Wells Fargo media analyst Marci Ryvicker was quoted as having a “gut feeling” that Dish chairman and CEO Charlie could be up to something. Citigroup’s Jason Bazinet was the contrarian, saying the move was good for both companies but believing it pointed more to M&A opportunities for EchoStar than Dish.

MoffettNathanson principal and senior analyst Craig Moffett published a report on Verizon on Wednesday after a lengthy talk with the phone company’s new CFO, Matt Ellis, about several topics and believes that Verizon isn’t under any pressure to do a deal. While Ellis wouldn’t comment directly on any deals – the federal wireless auction rules prohibit conversations between bidders -- Moffett said the company makes a pretty strong case for waiting until more is known before committing to one business path.

“Despite investors’ obvious impatience, and a view among many investors that AT&T’s ‘boldness’ is preferable to Verizon’s reticence, Ellis seems to clearly appreciate that choosing one path necessarily closes others, and the risk of the path not taken is extremely high given the current level of technological and regulatory uncertainty,” Moffett wrote.

Pivotal Research Group CEO and senior media & communications analyst Jeff Wlodarczak noted that when Ergen first split Dish and EchoStar in 2008, everyone thought that was the precursor for sale of the satellite giant that never came.

Wlodarczak added that the deal doesn’t involve a huge amount of money and makes sense since EchoStar didn’t have much luck selling set-tops to companies other than Dish – the reason for the split originally.

“In the end, it appears that this was a move toward simplification for both players,” Wlodarczak said in an e-mail. 

How it plays out is left to wide speculation. Dish may be cleaning house to attract a suitor, but that doesn’t mean an appropriate one will come. And like I tell my daughter, sometimes it’s just nice to have a clean room.

Dish Network said it has reached an agreement with sister EchoStar Corp. to consolidate its Direct Broadcast Satellite assets and operations, a deal it says will give it end-to-end control of its OTT service Sling TV.

Dish said in a statement that the deal will involve the transfer of certain EchoStar assets and operations, including its EchoStar Technologies hardware and software development group, its national and regional uplink business, its managed fiber backhaul network serving all U.S. DMAs and its OTT development group to Dish in exchange for Dish's 80% economic interest in Hughes Retail Group, which houses Dish’s satellite broadband business, held in the form of a tracking stock.

In addition, Dish will receive EchoStar’s 10% stake in Sling TV, wireless spectrum licenses covering four markets in the 28 GHz band and certain real estate properties.

Dish launched Sling TV in 2015 and the OTT service has about 900,000 customers, according to estimates.

Dish will continue to market satellite broadband under the brand dishNET to rural customers.

This deal comes more than eight years after Dish split itself into two separate units – Dish Network for the satellite TV business and EchoStar for the equipment side.  Last week EchoStar said it would cease manufacturing standalone Slingboxes, which some observers saw as the end of an era. 

"With this transaction we will vertically integrate all the elements that define our customer experience - one team will deliver the full Dish and Sling TV experience end to end," Dish president Erik Carlson said in a statement. "Not only do we gain full control of product development roadmap for DBS and Sling TV but we also anticipate achieving operational efficiencies."

The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2017.

Sling Media, the video place-shifting pioneer, has stopped manufacturing Slingbox units, but will continue to sell Slingboxes that remain still in stock, Satellite Business News reported in its January 6 issue.

“That means that once the existing stock of the standalone streaming devices is sold, the only way consumers will be able to buy a unit is through various on-line outlets that represent retailer with remaining inventory,” the publication reported.

Sling Media did not deny that it has halted Slingbox manufacturing, but said that it continues to sell and support the products.

“We continue to sell Slingbox units and support our active community of Slingbox users. There are not any formal announcements to share at this time,” Mark N. Vena, vice president of worldwide marketing at Sling Media, said in a statement to Multichannel News.

Sling Media is selling its current flagship product, the M2, for $99.99, a discount of $100 from the MSRP when the product was introduced in 2015. Amazon and Best Buy are also selling the M2 online for $99.99.

RELATED: New M2  Slingbox Drops Mobile App Fees

Dish Network, Sling Media’s corporate cousin, continues to integrate Sling’s technology into satellite DVR recorders, Satellite Business News noted. For example, Dish’s Hopper 3, a 4K-capable box launched last year, uses Sling Media’s place-shifting technology, which enables users to watch live and recorded programming on the go from Web browsers and apps for smartphones and tablets.

RELATED: Dish Serves the Hopper 3

The report comes amid the rise of virtual MVPDs such as Sling TV, PlayStation Vue and DirecTV Now alongside the ongoing expansion and adoption of authenticated TV Everywhere apps that increasingly remove the need for consumers to use a retail device such as the Slingbox to access their subscriptions on multiple devices when they are in or out of the home.

EchoStar, now the technology and set-top subsidiary of Dish, acquired Sling Media in 2007 for $380 million. Prior to that, Sling Media set the stage for video place-shifting with its entrance at the 2005 CES confab and the introduction of the original Slingbox. Sling Media co-founder and serial entrepreneur Blake Krikorian died last August at the age of 48.

RELATED: Remembering a True Visionary

Sling Media has not disclosed Slingbox sales figures, though Satellite Business News estimates that about 2 million standalone Slingbox units have been sold since 2005. An industry source said that sales figure is low, but also said that small subset of the Slingbox sales base are actually using the devices.

Sling Media tried to target the Slingbox to mainstream consumers with the M2, which removed the need for users to buy the mobile apps for tablets and smartphones that support it, but supplemented that part of the business through the controversial use of advertising. Those users also have the option of avoiding ads on the mobile apps by purchasing the apps separately.

RELATED: Sling Media Defends Ad Strategy

In 2014, Sling Media took aim at the limitations of TV Everywhere and tried to amp up retail sales with a humorous ad campaign that offered a cure for a made-up condition called “Can’t Watch Anywhere Pain” or C.W.A.P.

EchoStar, Sling Media’s parent company, has shown a recent willingness to change gears with respect to retail products that don’t fit its long-term business aims. For example, EchoStar last fall shut down Sage By Hughes, a short-lived do-it-yourself home security and automation service, after the product had trouble gaining traction amid competition from other retail products as well as smart home products and services sold through providers such as ADT, Comcast, Verizon and AT&T. 

RELATED: EchoStar Sets Shutdown Date for Sage By Hughes

Coincidentally, an earlier version of the AirTV Player, a new device that enables users to blend OTT content with over-the-air broadcast TV signals from a Dish DBS Corp. subsidiary called AirTV LLC, used the Slingbox M1/M2 form factor. The AirTV Player, introduced last week at CES, emerged with a new design developed in partnership with Technicolor.

RELATED: CES 2017: Dish Unit Pitches Android TV-Powered AirTV Box for $99

The AirTV Player, a device targeted to cord-cutters from EchoStar, is sporting a new look along with some additional details about the technologies that will power it, according to new information discovered by gadget blog ZatzNotFunny.

EchoStar hasn’t announced a launch date for the product (an announcement around next month’s CES seems a likely possibility), but a Web page that is hiding out in the open about the AirTV Player reiterates that it will support over-the-air broadcast TV channels (when paired with an AirTV adapter and an OTA antenna that are sold separately), and will integrate Sling TV, Dish Network’s OTT-TV service.

RELATED: Dish-EchoStar ‘Sling AirTV’ Nears Retail Debut: Report

EchoStar, Charlie Ergen’s tech and set-top spin-off, also notes on the web site that AirTV Player will tie in access to Netflix and will come with a remote control with voice support.

Other documentation found by ZatzNotFunny also shows that the AirTV Player will run the Android 6.0.1 operating system and is made by Technicolor.

“With the AirTV Player, cut the cord and keep the TV experience,” the site explains. “You’ll have a single platform for watching Sling TV, Netflix, local channels, and more.”

Per the AirTV Player FAQ, the device connects to the TV via HDMI and comes with a 12-month warranty and no monthly fee (save for the subscription fee of the individual apps it provides access to).

The redesign is notable because earlier version of the product that surfaced showed the AirTV Player to be based on the Slingbox M1/M2 form factor.  Previous data on the device indicated that the AirTV Player would sell for $149.99.

Though EchoStar hasn’t said when the AirTV Player will go on sale, it got a step closer earlier this month when the FCC recently cleared the company to import, market and sell it after granting a waiver on an analog tuner requirement.

RELATED: FCC Gives EchoStar's 'AirTV' a Lift 

Sage By Hughes, EchoStar’s short-lived do-it-your-self home security and automation service, will officially shut down on Friday, Sept. 30.

EchoStar posted this statement on the Sage By Hughes site:

EchoStar has made the difficult decision to discontinue the SAGE by Hughes product and service offering.This shutdown is effective as of 11:59 p.m. on Friday, September 30th. All of our current customers have been notified.

Although we decided to discontinue SAGE, we believe its product development shed light on distinct market opportunities within the security and home automation space that will benefit the industry as a whole in the long run.

We are grateful for our customer’s business and support.For more information on this matter, you can contactmediarelations@echostar.com.

According to Digital Trends, Sage has sent emails to customers telling them they are in line for refunds for Sage system equipment and services they may have purchased. Customers don’t need to return the equipment to receive a refund, but continued use of Sage products are no longer covered by any warranty previously offered.

EchoStar, which launched Sage by Hughes in March, announced the plan to drop the product last month amid difficulty gaining traction in a competitive market alongside a decision to focus on other parts of EchoStar’s business.

At the time, EchoStar, the set-top and technology spin-off of Dish Network, also disclosed that long-time president Mark Jackson was leaving the company to pursue other opportunities. Stepping into that role is Vivek Khemka, who was recently promoted to CTO at Dish Network. Khemka is retaining the CTO role and is now an employee of both companies.

Dish Network and corporate cousin EchoStar appear to be nearing the retail launch of Sling AirTV, a product that integrates over-the-air broadcast TV with Sling TV’s OTT service.

That product, which uses the Slingbox M1/M2 form factor, will cost $149.99 and launch sometime next month, according to ZatzNotFunny, which located a “draft” listing on Amazon that sheds more details on the product.

ZatzNotFunny first spotted details about AirTV last April. Sling TV and Dish have been asked to comment on rollout plans for AirTV.

Update: Dish declined to comment. 

Per that listing, the device is “coming soon” and allows users to stream live local programming, is compatible with antennas from suppliers such as Mohu, and “requires” the Sling TV app. Here’s more detail on how the draft listing describes AirTV:

“With AirTV and an HD antenna, you can stream live local programming, news and your local sports anywhere in your home using the free Sling TV app and its integrated program guide. No paid contracts-just free local TV on any compatible device. And if you want more channels, you can subscribe to paid Sling TV packages-all from the same app.”

Dave Zatz noted on the blog that Dish and EchoStar had been targeting a late spring 2016 launch, but now believes Air TV is “on track for a revised September release running $150.”

Even without AirTV, Sling TV has been making progress in other ways when it comes to supplying local TV programming.

In January, Sling TV launched an app on Channel Master’s DVR+ platform, a subscription-free DVR that integrates broadband connectivity (for OTT services) and over-the-air TV tuning capabilities.

Sling TV’s new multi-stream “Blue” tier, which runs $25 per month, offers local Fox and NBC feeds in select markets, and has been offering local ABC feeds in Chicago, Fresno-Visalia, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Raleigh-Durham, and San Francisco via a Broadcast Extra add-on package that costs an additional $5 per month.

In an apparent move to make its video place shifting platform more attractive to cord-cutters, EchoStar looks to be developing a version of the Slingbox that would capture free over-the-air TV signals and pass them along to users who connect to the device via mobile apps and Web browsers.

The Donohue Report located evidence of a model in the works called the AirTV Slingbox OTA. EchoStar, the set-top and technology corporate sibling of Dish Network, hasn’t announced plans to introduce an OTA-focused product and whether a new model might also be outfitted with a few extra bells and whistles, such as DVR storage.

Update: Sling Media is not commenting on unnannounced products. Also, blogger Dave Zatz came across the AirTV trademark in July. 

However, a device more tightly tailored for cord-cutters could emerge as Sling Media continues to try to expand its user base. This summer, Sling Media took another stab at the consumer mainstream with the launch of the Slingbox M2, a version that sells for $199.99, but does not require buyers to purchase the requisite mobile apps. However, the M2 does expand the Sling Media’s use of advertising in its video place-shifting devices.

Still, Sling Media and EchoStar might be travelling well-travelled ground amid the evolving pay TV landscape. TiVo has the Roamio OTA DVR and is believed to be working on an OTA-tailored of its new Bolt platform that would not include a CableCARD slot (the first Bolt out of the gate supports both OTA and the CableCARD). Channel Master, meanwhile, sells a line of subscription-free “DVR+” products that are designed to work with OTA antennas.

On the MVPD front, Comcast is testing Stream, a $15 per month no-contract service for broadband subs that will feature the major broadcasters and HBO, and be paired with access to a Cloud DVR. Cablevision Systems introduced a batch of cord-cutter packages in April. 

Michael Hawkey, an exec late of video place-shifting pioneer Sling Media, has left to become senior vice president and general manager of Rovi’s Discovery business group.

In that role, Hawkey will head up the group’s overall strategy, including growth initiatives, product development and product marketing. Hawkey will be based out of Rovi’s headquarters in Santa Clara, Calif., and report to John Burke, another video industry vet who joined Rovi as EVP and chief operating officer in March 2014.

Hawkey most recently was senior vice president and general manager for EchoStar Corp.’s Sling Media, the company behind the Slingbox, and before that was VP of marketing and sales for EchoStar Technologies, Dish Network’s technology and set-top-focused spin-off.

During his time at Sling Media, the company introduced several new products, including the M1, a Slingbox targeted at the mainstream, and, more recently, the M2, a new version that drops app fees but relies on a somewhat controversial ad-supported model.

Before Sling Media and EchoStar, Hawkey held exec slots at set-top maker Advanced Digital Broadcast and at silicon provider STMicroelectronics.

Hawkey comes on board following Rovi’s recent renewal with Charter Communications, and as it looks to lock up new licensing deals with its “big-four” -- Comcast, Time Warner Cable, DirecTV (now part of AT&T) and Dish Network. On the search and discovery end, the company’s Conversation Services platform is partly based on the “Knowledge Graph”-driven semantic technologies and natural language controls it obtained last year via Rovi’s $62 million acquisition of Veveo.

"With more than 25 years of industry experience, Michael brings tremendous expertise to Rovi and a solid track record in driving digital entertainment software and solutions across multiple screens and mobile devices worldwide," Burke said, in a statement.  "Michael's leadership in successfully managing product development and bringing next-generation products to market makes him well-suited to support Rovi's rapidly growing Discovery business."

“Rovi is redefining the way consumers discover and view content around the world,” Hawkey added. "I am very excited to join the Rovi team and help the company continue to drive innovation and bring value to our customers across the digital entertainment industry on every screen."

Dish Network has yet to release any specific registration and subscription figures for Sling TV, its new slimmed-down OTT pay-TV offering tailored for tech-savvy millennials and cord-cutters, but evidence continues to mount that it’s in six-figures territory.

Re/code reported that “at least 100,000 people” have signed up to try out the service, which starts at $20 per month and was launched nationwide on February 9.

That number is absolutely believable considering that Roger Lynch, CEO of Sling TV, told Broadcasting & Cablein January, ahead of the service’s launch that “hundreds of thousands of people” had pre-registered, noting that few of them were existing Dish customers.

What’s not known is how many people who register for Sling TV are sticking with it.

Sling TV is offering a seven-day free trial to anyone who wants to try out a no-contract service that they can drop at any time. To keep customers locked in for a bit longer, Sling TV has recently launched promos offering discounted or free streaming devices from Roku and Amazon, if customers agree to prepay for three months of service. It’s expected to offer a similar 50% discount on the Android TV-powered Nexus Player soon, according to GigaOm.

In the meantime, Sling TV sweetened its core package earlier this week with the addition of AMC and IFC. 

Las  Vegas -- International CES -- EchoStar formally launched SAGE here this week, showing off a platform that is anchored by a TV-connected set-top-like device, called the SAGE Hub, apps for Android and iOS devices, and a mix of wirelessly-connected components elements that will let consumers monitor and use their lighting, cameras, locks, cameras and thermostats remotely.

One way EchoStar will try to differentiate is through the SAGE Hub, a Linux-powered device that lets users manage the system via the TV while still watching their shows through a scaled down video window. The device accomplishes this by securely passing through the pay-TV signal through an HDMI cable that links the SAGE Hub to the set-top box. Comcast recently integrated its Xfinity Home product with the TV, though that application is currently limited to customers who are on the MSO’s X1 platform.

Among other features, the SAGE mobile app will support  a feature called “My Local 911” that's designed to ensure that security alerts are patched through to law enforcement authorities that are tied to the customer’s home address rather than basing it on the physical location of the user’s mobile device.  

EchoStar officials said the company is still determining SAGE’s retail pricing and which components will be included in the starter pack. SAGE is designed to be easy enough for self-installs, but will offer a professional installation option.

David Lett, EchoStar’s VP of engineering, said SAGE will offer two primary tiering options – those that includes the equipment alongside a monthly fee, and a “self-monitored” option whereby customers purchase the equipment but won’t pay a recurring monthly fee.

The plan is “to challenge the marketplace with a very affordable price,” Lett said.

Retail will be SAGE’s primary focus, where it will match up with services such as PEQ, a service from SmartHome Ventures that is powered by Icontrol’s platform, which relies on a customized version of Android. EchoStar is also open to partnering with cable operators and other types of MVPDs, but has not announced any deals. Of course, the most obvious candidate for a such a partnership play is EchoStar corporate cousin Dish Network.

If EchoStar pursues the MVPD path, it will lock horns with Icontrol, which is already working with Comcast, Bright House Networks, Time Warner Cable and Cox Communications, among others. Verizon Communications and AT&T have also launched their own home security/monitoring platforms.

SAGE, a do-it-yourself home automation platform from EchoStar  Corp., will launch sometime next year, a company official confirmed Friday.

EchoStar isn't ready to reveal pricing and specific rollout details, but it’s expected that corporate cousin Dish Network will play a significant role in the distribution and marketing of the new product.

EchoStar, Charlie Ergen’s set-top and technology spin-off, teased the new SAGE service at the recent IBC confab in Amsterdam, and has posted a feature sheet that offers some details about the product, which will become just the latest to join an increasingly heated marketplace. 

The initial version of SAGE, billed as a do-it-yourself product that doesn’t require install technicians, will run off of a small (7x6” x 6.6” x 1.7”) device outfitted with an HDMI connection, two USB 2.0 ports and a remote control that provides  access to all SAGE functions via the set-top box interface.  The service, which will work with “SAGE-approved” devices such as cameras, sensors, and light switches, will allow users to manage and monitor their homes via iOS and Android apps that rely on EchoStar’s Sling video place-shifting architecture.

According to EchoStar, SAGE will be supported through the standalone device, but can also be integrated into set-top boxes.

The Rethink Technology Research newsletter was briefed about SAGE at IBC, and reported that several products, including a Honeywell thermostat, a Yale smart lock and a D-Link-made security camera were operating in tandem with the main SAGE box, which is outfitted with ZigBee, Z-Wave, Bluetooth Low energy and WiFi radios.

As the ZatzNotFunny blog points out, EchoStar has also sent in a wireless doorbell sensor, light switch module, and a home automation dongle for FCC review.

Any connection to Dish and its base of 14 million video subscribers will obviously be helpful to EchoStar as it enters a market that is now rife with home security and automation products from CE companies and service providers,  including Apple, Comcast, Verizon Communications, Google, Samsung, AT&T, Cox Communications, and SmartHome Ventures, a startup that recently launched a product under the “PĒQ” banner.

While many get ready for some R&R this weekend, thousands of video industry people will be burning it on both ends in Amsterdam as the confab continues to roll on.

Here’s a looks at what else is making news there. Check out our earlier IBC news roundups here and here.

-TiVo’s shot at achieving global domination is well underway. The DVR and video software company said it’s expanding its European footprint to include sales, marketing and account management staff offices in Austria, England, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain, noting that they’ll be dedicated to personalized video products – a move that happens to come on the heels of TiVo's acquisition of Digitasmiths. TiVo, which already working with Com Hem in Sweden, Ono in Spain and Virgin Media in the U.K., isn't saying how many staffers will be based at these expanded international posts, but the company employs 635 people worldwide today. So we reckon that the number we were looking for is something less than 635.

-Alcatel-Lucent said it’s working on a new architecture that will help pay TV providers store a customer’s favorite TV shows in the cloud at low cost while also maintaining compliance with content rights and copyright laws. Under U.S. rules, cloud DVRs must make a private copy for each recording request made by a given household -- horribly inefficient from a storage standpoint when compared to areas of the world that alllow multiple subscribers to stream off of the same recorded copy. Alcatel-Lucent said will be getting around this via a “virtual private copy architecture” that combines a tiered storage system with its Velocix Content Delivery Network (CDN), claiming that the approach can reduce storage costs by up to 75%. The company is developing a prototype of the architecture and expects it to be ready for trials in mid-2015, followed by commercial availability toward the end of next year.

-SeaChange International is demoing a new platform that integrates Freesat’s next-gen Freetime service with SeaChange’s multiscreen Adrenalin video backoffice platform. They’re pitching the combo, which includes a catch-up and recommendation engine,  to IPTV, satellite, cable and terrestrial operators. Freesat, a joint venture of the U.K.’s ITV and the BBC, is a subscription-free service with more than 200 channels, plus on-demand, that’s in over 1.85 million homes. 

-Envivio has shed more light on the tech partners who are tied into Nuage, its new multiscreen video platform. They include Microsoft (content protection), Adobe Primetime (video playback, authentication, DRM, and ad insertion/decisioning), Dolby (audio processing), and 1 Mainstream (automated video app platform).

-Brightcove has unveiled Brightcove Perform, a video playback system for multiscreen video that supports management APIs and its “HTML5-first” Brightcove Player. As the performance of Perform goes, the company is making the lofty claim that it can load up to 70% than competitive players, including YouTube’s. That player will also be available soon as part of the company’s flagship Video Cloud online video platform.

-Verimatrix said Swisscom has selected its Video Content Authority System (VCAS) to secure the operator’s new TV 2.0 service, which runs on an Android-powered set-top and marks Swisscom’s move away from Mediaroom, the former Microsoft IPTV platform that is now part of Ericsson. Swisscom TV 2.0 supports live TV and a seven-day replay service for 250 channels.

-EchoStar is using IBC to offer a sneak peak at a  home automation and security platform that will feature “do-it-yourself” installation and enable the control of thermostats, security cameras, door sensors, lights, doorbells and switches. EchoStar said the new product is expected to debut in “various territories” in early 2015.

-Second-screen specialist Visiware said its Sync2TV platform reaches more than 50 million users, with 500,000 of them “engaged” with several single TV shows. Visiware said it’s working with several producers and networks, including Disney, Embassy Row, Endemol, ESPN, NBC Universal, the NFL, ITV, M6, Sony, and TF1, among others.

-Harmonic has released its Polaris playout management suite of tools and integrated them with its Spectrum media server family. Harmonic also unveiled new multiscreen packaging and origination capabilities for its VOS software-based media processing platform that adds  packaging-on-the-fly and low-latency origin server capabilities that were originally developed for its ProMedia multiscreen applications. Sky Italia is one the first customers to deploy the VOS platform for its broadcast and multiscreen services.

-Speaking of Sky Italia, it has also deployed Imagine Communications’ Magellan SDN Orchestrator, a distribution system for both ASI and IP transport streams across broadcast routers and commercial IP switches that’s tied into a common software-defined network infrastructure

Satellite-delivered broadband subscriber totals hardly put a dent in the overall U.S. broadband market, but Hughes Network Systems appears to be making progress in rural areas and other markets that are relatively untouched by terrestrial broadband.

Hughes, a subsidiary of EchoStar, announced this week that it had has become the first the exceed 1 million “active users” in North America for satellite-delivered Internet services. That total factors in Hughes’ retail and wholesale subs and additional users getting service through third-party operator with capacity deals. Corporate cousin Dish Network and  DirecTV are among Hughes’ key partners.

By comparison, the top 17 U.S. cable operators and telcos finished the second quarter with 85.9 million broadband subs, according to Leichtman Research Group.

Hughes’ platform is based on Ka-band satellites, and is now using a fourth-generation system to deliver broadband to residential and business customers.

HughesNet currently offers four tiers that are encumbered with monthly data caps. Its top-end tier, Power MAX, offers 15 Mbps down and 2 Mbps, sells for $129.99 per month, and capped at 40 Gigabytes. Connect, it’s starter tier, offers 5 Mbps down/1 Mbps up for $49.99 per  month, and caps usage at 10 GB per month. Hughes is running a promo through September 30 that cuts the monthly subscription price by $10 for the first three months, so long as customers agree to a two-year contract.

“Hughes and its partners are attracting thousands of new subscribers each month as more and more people realize they don’t have to choose between living where they want and staying connected with high-speed Internet access,” said Pradman Kaul, president of Hughes, in a statement. “Today just about anyone in North America can enjoy the many entertainment, business and educational benefits that come with high-quality broadband connectivity.”

Conviva has inked a deal that will bring its video optimization platform to EchoStar Technologies and its support for two IP offerings from corporate cousin Dish Network – Dish Anywhere, the satellite company’s authenticated TV Everywhere product, and Dish World, the over-the-top international sports subscription service.

The agreement announced Wednesday only mentions  Dish Anywhere and Dish World, but a logical, additional candidate for Conviva’s technology is Dish’s coming single-stream OTT subscription video service that will largely target a group of so-called “cord-cutters” and “cord-nevers.”

EchoStar has a clear stake in that effort. EchoStar will continue to provide engineering and platform operation services to Dish’s emerging digital/OTT service, but the tech unit will no longer be obligated to fund one-third of the project’s ongoing costs, EchoStar CEO and president Michael Dugan said last Thursday (Aug. 7) on the company’s second quarter earnings call. Under the revised arrangement, EchoStar also retained a right to 10% “of the value created by the growth of Dish Digital,” he added.

Meanwhile, central to the technology agreement tied to Dish Anywhere and Dish World, is Conviva’s Intelligent Control Platform and Conviva Precision, systems that rely on real-time analytics to boost the quality of video applications and services delivered over the Internet. Among its components, Conviva’s platform collects data from millions of devices that obtain IP video services from the Conviva’s customers, a list that includes ESPN, NBCUniversal, HBO, Viacom, Virgin Media, DirecTV, Starz, Verizon, and Ziggo, among others.

Conviva collects that data and processes it to determine if a video session started properly or if it’s experiencing buffering or some other issue that is impacting the quality of the experience, and root the issue to its origin, whether it’s at the peering point, on the access network. It matches that data with conditions occurring on the Internet and uses a predictive algorithm to avoid traffic jams and to find the most optimal path.

“The more traffic we put on our system, the smarter it becomes,” Chris Roach, Conviva’s vice president, Americas, said, noting that Conviva currently monitors nearly 5 billion streams per month. “This control layer for publishers enables the transformation of Web video to Internet television.”

While adaptive bit rate streaming adjusts the bit rate and resolution of a video based on available bandwidth, the technique doesn’t typically use a broader set of data to determine the more global conditions of the Internet, he said.

“Conviva’s robust platform delivers several key applications that allow us to optimize the quality of experience for DISH Internet TV services across all devices, providing granular, real-time analytics and preemptive optimization,” said Jeff McSchooler, senior vice president of engineering for EchoStar, in a statement. “We strive to give DISH subscribers a streaming experience with little interruption and the highest picture quality possible. The visibility and control Conviva provides is critical to that ongoing endeavor.”

Nagra said it has inked an extended video security deal with Dish Network and EchoStar Technologies -- Charlie Ergen’s set-top and technology unit -- that factors in digital rights management for multiscreen services.

Financial terms were not disclosed, but the deal paves the way for Dish and EchoStar to deploy the Nagra Media Live Player with Media Access Persistent Rights Management technology, which was recently approved by the Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem (DECE), the organization that operates the UltraViolet digital locker system for electronic sell-through (EST) products.  

While the new deal could provide Dish with a way to provide security for a possible EST offering, Dish and its technology corporate cousin will use Nagra’s multiscreen DRM system to secure the Dish Anywhere video-on-demand service for PCs, smartphones and tablets. Dish currently uses Nagra MediaAccess to protect Hopper Transfers, a feature in the Dish Anywhere app that lets Hopper with Sling HD-DVR subs to port recorded content to mobile devices for offline viewing.

Dish, EchoStar and Nagra have a long-standing video security relationship that began at the set-top level. NagraStar, for example, is a joint venture of EchoStar and the Kudelski Group, Nagra’s parent company.

“Content has to be secured throughout the entire ecosystem, whether on the set-top box, personal computers, smartphones or tablets,” said Pierre Roy, chief operating officer and executive president of Nagra, in a release.

“More and more consumers are demanding greater flexibility in the way they enjoy their DISH content,” said Vivek Khemka, DISH SVP of product management, in a statement. “To successfully provide this service, we chose the NAGRA MediaLive Player with PRM because of their proven ability to effectively protect our content investment while at the same time meeting the requirements of our premium content providers. What’s more, our close security partnership with NAGRA allows us to focus on creating innovative new services.”

“While providing consumers with the best possible viewing experience, both inside and outside the home, we recognize the need of content creators to protect their rights. NAGRA’s solutions will add an extra layer of security to protect those rights,” added EchoStar Technologies president Mark Jackson.