Satellite TV Pros » Main

Dish Network cuts CEO’s pay 92.5%

chaze — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 01:29:46 +0000

Ergen, Charles W. Total Direct Compensation*
Dish Network
[Click for proxy] $623.1
*All figures in thousands
Industry: Consumer Services
2009 Salary: $623.1
2009 Annual Incentives: $0.0
Salary and annual incentives, % change from 2007: 3.8%
Stock option grants: $0.0
Restricted stock grants: $0.0
Performance-based equity grants: $0.0
Performance-based cash grants: $0.0
Total direct compensation: $623.1
Total direct compensation, % change from 2008: (92.3%)
Change in non-qualified deferred compensation and pension value: $0.0
All other compensation: $376.8
Total compensation: $999.9
Total realized LTI: $985.5
Company net income, % change from 2009: (29.6%)
2007-2009 company TSR: (9.3%)
Value of personal aircraft use: $345.1
Gross-up amount on perquisites: $0.0
2009 company TSR: 105.4%
3-year realized: $2,800.9

A Wall Street Journal analysis released today shows that executive compensation at top companies was down almost 1% in 2009. That’s after a 3.4% drop for CEO pay in 2008 as the recession took its toll and political outcry made big bonuses unpopular.

It’s natural to see companies cutting back in leaner times — even a bit refreshing to see that those on the top of the heap are sharing the pain of the little guys who have had salary freezes or furlough days. But what does it say about a company when it slashes CEO pay by over 90% — even as share prices have doubled in the last year?

That’s exactly what happened at Dish Network (DISH), where founder and CEO Charles Ergen suffered the harshest drop in pay across the entire WSJ survey — a drop of 92.5% to $623,100 a year in total compensation.

* Why DISH and DTV are driving Blockbuster bankrupt

While that figure is still 20 times the average salary of an adult American, it’s at the extreme bottom of the pay scale for the high-stress job of running a publicly traded company with a $9 billion market size and almost $13 billion in annual revenue. And it’s not like Ergen has been asleep at the wheel — DISH stock is up about 125% since the March 9, 2009, lows and in its latest quarter topped Wall Street earnings per share estimates by 25%.

* The Final Four — broadcast in 3D!

So why would DISH pay its CEO so little? Well, perhaps it’s because as the founder of Dish Network that Ergen has more of an interest in the success of the company than padding his own bank account. Cable providers like Comcast (CMCSA) and Time Warner (TWX) are virtual monopolies, and satellite rival DirecTV (DTV) boasts 30% more customers – 18 million by the latest estimate to 14 million at DISH. Putting the company’s money to work toppling these rivals may be more important to Ergen than anything else.

Another idea would be that the CEO is simply playing a public relations game akin to Citigroup (C) CEO Vikram Pandit took a salary of $1 without any bonuses after a massive government bailout, or when General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner made a similar $1 pay pledge. While 600 large isn’t peanuts, it’s certainly not the $52 million pulled in by Occidental Petroleum (OXY) CEO Ray R. Irani.

* 5 Reasons Chrysler Could Be Doomed

The final theory — and one that’s more disturbing for DISH shareholders — is that the company either doesn’t have the cash or doesn’t have the inclination to pay its leadership top dollar. That could signal trouble down the road if its true, because Dish Network is going to need to woo the best and brightest executives to fend off cable rivals and satellite leader DTV. Settling for second-tier talent is no way to become the best in the business.

Pay is all relative. Obviously a cashier should make less than a CEO because of the difference in experience, education and skills for the job. And in the world of CEO pay where top execs routinely pull in seven and eight figures, $623,100 seems like chump change.

Rumors of a Viacom boycott

chaze — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 20:48:06 +0000

Paramount, dreamworks, CMT, MTV, Comedy Central, Rhapsody, Spike, Bet Networks

There is a video here on it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJbCWJNQUYI

Dishnetwork goes up in value

chaze — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 07:24:40 +0000

Investors and analyst have high expectations for EchoStar and its recently spun-off holding company.

After completing the split of EchoStar Holding (nasdaq: SATS – news – people ) from EchoStar Communications (nasdaq: DISH – news – people ) on Wednesday, some analysts think the company has opened the possibility of hidden value. According to Lehman Brothers analyst Vijay Jayant, “both pieces are undervalued.”

The Englewood, Colo.-based company announced in September that it would split its satellite broadcast service, Dish Network, from its fixed satellite services and set-top box business called EchoStar Holding. EchoStar Holding’s Class A common stock will trade under the symbol “SATS” on NASDAQ, while Dish Network will continue trading under its “DISH” ticker.

Jayant believes that each company should now be better able to focus on a specific core area. The separation should help Wall Street assign value to the newly divided companies, especially in their nonsatellite operations.

Under the separation arrangement, EchoStar shareholders received one share of common stock in the new EchoStar Holding for each five EchoStar shares they owned as of Dec. 27.

Shares of EchoStar gained $1.07, or 3.3%, to $33.17 on Thursday , while the new EchoStar Holding was up 8.9%, or $2.91, to $35.50, in its second day of trading.

Rumors of a possible AT&T (nyse: T – news – people ) buyout of the Dish Network swirled throughout the fall, perhaps fueled by analysts like Oppenheimer’s Thomas Eagan, who said soon after EchoStar announced its divide that it looked ripe for a buyout from the telecommunications giant, even predicting that AT&T would pay more than $56.00 per share. (See: AT&T Hovers Over EchoStar)

In September, Chief Executive Charlie Ergen said that after the split the companies will separately pursue the strategies that best suit their respective long-term interests. Also, the spin-off transaction should allow “employee incentives to be tied to their respective company’s performance, and improve opportunities to effectively develop and finance expansion plans.”

NFL tries to horde key game

chaze — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 07:23:07 +0000

Pats-Giants Game to be Simulcast on NBC, CBS

The Saturday night game in which the New England Patriots will be trying to set an NFL record by finishing the regular season with an undefeated record will be simulcast on CBS and NBC, the NFL has just announced.

Originally the 8:15 p.m. game against the Giants in East Rutherford, N.J., was scheduled to be carried only on the NFL Network. Because of a dispute with Time Warner and Comcast, that network is available in fewer than 40 percent of the nation’s homes that have televisions.

“We have taken this extraordinary step because it is in the best interest of our fans,” Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a written statement. “What we have seen for the past year is a very strong consumer demand for NFL Network. We appreciate CBS and NBC delivering the NFL Network telecast on Saturday night to the broad audience that deserves to see this potentially historic game. Our commitment to the NFL Network is stronger than ever.”

This will be the first three-network simulcast in NFL history and is the first simulcast of any kind for the NFL since Super Bowl I (between the AFL and NFL) on CBS and NBC on Jan. 15, 1967.

The Patriots-Giants simulcast will be the NFL Network’s feed, featuring broadcasters Bryant Gumbel and Cris Collinsworth.

Of course, the game isn’t exactly interrupting Must-See TV; the Saturday night lineup is traditionally one of the weakest for over-the-air networks. Here’s what was scheduled for CBS and NBC on Saturday:
NBC — “Dateline NBC” and “Law & Order: SVU”
CBS — “Good Night and Good Luck” (the 2005 George Clooney movie) and “48 Hours Mystery.”

Dishnetwork DVR incorperates broadband

chaze — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 07:20:28 +0000

I am normally not overly concerned about privacy. I am the kind of person that gladly signs up for a grocery store rewards program (surrendering all my personal information in exchange for a 3% discount on “club card” sale items). That said, I was a little bit freaked out when I discovered my Dish Network digital video recorder (DVR) had connected to the Internet without any help from me. What’s more, it doesn’t even have an Ethernet cable or a WiFi adapter.

So how did this all happen? When I bought (uh, leased) my Dish Network ViP622 DVR™ it came with an Ethernet port on the back panel, which was label “for future use.” Since it didn’t do anything, no use plugging it into my home network (maybe someday, I thought…). However, sometime in the middle of the night a few days ago, Dish Network downloaded new software to my DVR which enabled my DVR to connect to a broadband network. Dish Network says this will allow me to download movies to my DVR from their Internet web site and will allow for new kinds of services from Dish Network.

But back to the scary part…my DVR connected itself to my broadband Internet connection all by itself. I didn’t connect it to my home network with an Ethernet cable or install a WiFi adapter. My DVR, apparently, connected to my home network and then out to the Internet through its own power cord. How is that possible? Thanks to a technology called HomePlug or Powerline Ethernet you can network computers around your house using special Ethernet adapters that plug into your electrical wall sockets. I, in fact, have a couple of these devices in my house to network various computers that I either don’t want to run cables to or don’t have WiFi adapters for. Having a Powerline Ethernet adapter connected to my DSL modem allows these devices to talk across my home network and access the Internet.

So, as it turns out, my Dish Network ViP622 DVR™ has a built-in Powerline Ethernet adapter (unbeknownst to me). When Dish Network sent my DVR new software to allow it to connect to a broadband network, that’s exactly what my DVR did. It connected out through its Powerline Ethernet adapter (through the power cord) and received a DHCP address from my DSL router (which is attached to my electrical wiring through a Netgear wall-plugged Ethernet bridge, pictured on the right). After that, my DVR “phoned home” to Dish Network and has been connecting back to dishnetwork.com and dishonlinebeta.com every few minutes ever since.

So what information is my DVR sending to Dish Network? I am sure I agreed to let my DVR do this somewhere in the fine print of my contract or end user license agreement (EULA). Nevertheless, I am now looking at all my home appliances with a suspicious eye… Is my toaster oven also connecting out via the Internet and telling some bread company how often I make toast? Is my refrigerator reporting to some interested party how much filtered water I’ve been drinking or how much ice I’ve been making?

Connecting to the Internet is nothing new for mobile devices, but products that connect themselves to any available broadband connection is, perhaps, the wave of the future. If you want to find out what’s connected to your home network, familiarize yourself with your home router’s DCHP or “active user” client list. My DVR shows up as “unknown PC.” You may be surprised what you find—I was!

Football packages are here!

chaze — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 17:43:09 +0000

New packages for the next season are here: Football packages

New Channel List – Please use the search key to check your channel

chaze — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 18:51:43 +0000

ABC FAMILY

180

ALTITUDE SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT

410

AMC

130

AMC

890

ANGEL ONE

262

ANGEL ONE

9701

ANIMAL PLANET

184

ANIMAL PLANET

887

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

118

Alma Vision Hispanic Network

9413

BBC AMERICA

135

BBC AMERICA

879

BEAUTY & FASHION CHANNEL

225

BLACK ENTERTAINMENT TELEVISION

124

BRAVO

129

BRAVO

880

BYUTV

9403

C-SPAN

210

C-SPAN2

212

CABLE NEWS NETWORK

200

CARTOON NETWORK

176

CCTV-9

265

CCTV-9

694

CD-ACOUSTIC CROSSROADS

969

CD-AURA

977

CD-BACKPAGES

957

CD-BYU RADIO NETWORK

980

CD-CASHMERE

956

CD-CONCRETE BEATS

963

CD-EASY INSTRUMENTALS

973

CD-ENSEMBLE

971

CD-ESTILOS

821

CD-ESTILOS

964

CD-FEEDBACK

960

CD-FIESTA MEXICANA

965

CD-FREQUENCY

966

CD-HAWAIIAN MUSIC

981

CD-IMPRESSIONS

968

CD-INK’D

961

CD-INTERMEZZO

972

CD-JAZZ TRADITIONS

967

CD-JUKEBOX GOLD

953

CD-KIDTUNES

976

CD-KINGSTON

979

CD-LUCILLE

978

CD-NASHVILLE USA

952

CD-NUJAZZ

962

CD-PLAZA

970

CD-RAWHIDE

951

CD-ROCK SHOW

959

CD-SCREEN DOOR

950

CD-SONGBOOK

954

CD-STROBE

958

CD-SWING KINGS

974

CD-THE LIGHT

975

CD-UNFORGETTABLE

955

CLASSIC ARTS SHOWCASE

0406

CLASSIC ARTS SHOWCASE

9406

CNBC

208

COLLEGE SPORTS TELEVISION

152

COLOURS TV

9396

COLOURS TV

9407

COMCAST SPORTS NET CHICAGO

429

COMCAST SPORTS NET WEST

409

COMCAST SPORTS NETWORK MID-ATLANTIC

424

COMEDY CENTRAL

107

COUNTRY MUSIC TELEVISION

166

COURT TV

204

Current TV

196

DAYSTAR

263

DISCOVERY CHANNEL, THE

182

DISCOVERY HEALTH

189

DISCOVERY HEALTH

885

DISNEY CHANNEL (EAST)

172

DISNEY CHANNEL (WEST)

173

DOCUMENTARY CHANNEL

197

E! ENTERTAINMENT TELEVISION

114

ESPN

140

ESPN ALTERNATE

145

ESPN CLASSIC

143

ESPN2

144

ESPN2 ALTERNATE

146

ESPNEWS

142

ETERNAL WORD TELEVISION NETWORK

261

Educator TV

9417

FEC/PAEC

9418

FOOD NETWORK

110

FOX NEWS CHANNEL

205

FOX NEWS CHANNEL

205

FOX SPORTS ARIZONA

415

FOX SPORTS BAY AREA

419

FOX SPORTS CINCINNATI

427

FOX SPORTS DETROIT

430

FOX SPORTS FLORIDA

423

FOX SPORTS MIDWEST

418

FOX SPORTS NEW ENGLAND

435

FOX SPORTS NEW YORK

413

FOX SPORTS NORTH

436

FOX SPORTS NORTHWEST

426

FOX SPORTS OHIO

425

FOX SPORTS PITTSBURGH

428

FOX SPORTS ROCKY MOUNTAIN

414

FOX SPORTS SOUTH

420

FOX SPORTS SOUTHWEST

416

FOX SPORTS WEST

417

FREE SPEECH TV

9415

FUSE

158

136

878

Fox Sports West 2

411

191

GALAVISION

273

GALAVISION

273

GALAVISION

833

GALAVISION

833

GAME SHOW NETWORK

116

GOOD SAMARITAN NETWORK

9416

HALLMARK CHANNEL

185

HALLMARK CHANNEL

185

HALLMARK CHANNEL

896

HALLMARK CHANNEL

896

HEADLINE NEWS NETWORK

202

HEALTHY LIVING CHANNEL

223

HISTORY CHANNEL, THE

120

HITN

843

HITN

9401

HOME & GARDEN TELEVISION

112

HORSERACING TV

404

HSN

222

HSN

Health & Human Services Television

9402

INDEPENDENT FILM CHANNEL

131

INDEPENDENT FILM CHANNEL

894

INTERNATIONAL MUSIC FEED

157

ION

181

ION

882

Jewelry Television

227

KBS WORLD

652

KBS WORLD

652

KBS WORLD

704

KBS WORLD

704

LEARNING CHANNEL, THE

183

LIFETIME

108

LINK TV

9410

MADISON SQUARE GARDEN

412

MENS2

219

MSNBC

209

MUSIC TELEVISION

160

MUSIC TELEVISION 2

161

Mens Outdoor and Recreation

218

Mid-Atlantic Sports Network

432

Mid-Atlantic Sports Network Alternate

433

NASA

213

NEW ENGLAND SPORTS NETWORK

434

NFL NETWORK

154

NICKELODEON/NICK AT NIGHT (EAST)

170

NICKELODEON/NICK AT NITE (WEST)

171

NOGGIN

169

NORTHERN ARIZONA UNIVERSITY/UNIVERSITY HOUSE

9411

OXYGEN

127

PENTAGON CHANNEL

9405

QVC

137

REELZ

299

RESEARCHCHANNEL

9400

RESORT & RESIDENCE CHANNEL

216

RFDTV

231

RFDTV

9409

SCI-FI CHANNEL, THE

122

SHOP

224

SHOP

9602

SHOPNBC

228

SIRIUS – BBC Radio 1

6011

SIRIUS – BOOMBOX

6034

SIRIUS – ELVIS

6013

SIRIUS – LOVE SONGS

6003

SIRIUS – MARGARITAVILLE

6031

SIRIUS – UNDERGROUND GARAGE

6025

SIRIUS 100′S VIBRATION – 100′S HITS

6006

SIRIUS ALT NATION – ALTERNATIVE ROCK

6021

SIRIUS AREA 63

6033

SIRIUS BACK SPIN-OLD SKOOL RAP

6043

SIRIUS BIG 80′S-80′S HITS

6008

SIRIUS BLUEGRASS-BLUEGRASS MUSIC

6065

SIRIUS BLUES – CLASSIC BLUES

6074

SIRIUS BROADWAY’S BEST-BROADWAY MUSICALS

6077

SIRIUS BUZZSAW – CLASSIC HARD ROCK

6019

SIRIUS CLASSIC REWIND-RECENT ROCK

6015

SIRIUS CLASSIC VINYL – EARLY ROCK

6014

SIRIUS FACTION-ROCK/HIP-HOP/PUNK

6028

SIRIUS FIRST WAVE-CLASSIC ALTERNATIVE

6022

SIRIUS HAIR NATION-80′S HAIR BANDS

6023

SIRIUS HARD ATTACK-HEAVY METAL

6027

SIRIUS HEART & SOUL – R&B HITS

6051

SIRIUS HIP HOP NATION-UNCUT HIP HOP

6040

SIRIUS HOT JAMZ-HIP HOP & R&B HITS

6050

SIRIUS JAM ON-JAM BANDS

6017

SIRIUS JAZZ CAFE-SMOOTH JAZZ

6071

SIRIUS LEFT OF CENTER-COLLEGE ROCK

6026

SIRIUS MOVIN EASY-EASY LISTENING HITS

6004

SIRIUS OCTANE-PURE HARD ROCK

6020

SIRIUS OUTLAW COUNTRY

6063

SIRIUS PLANET JAZZ-CONTEMPORARY JAZZ

6070

SIRIUS POPS-CLASSICAL FAVORITES

6086

SIRIUS PRAISE-GOSPEL MUSIC

6068

SIRIUS PRIME COUNTRY – 80′S & 90′S COUNTRY

6061

SIRIUS PURE JAZZ-CLASSIC JAZZ

6072

SIRIUS REMIX- DANCE CLUB MIX

6012

SIRIUS RUMBON – Reggaeton/Tropical

6092

SIRIUS SHADE 45

6045

SIRIUS SIRIUS GOLD – 50 & 60 HITS

6005

SIRIUS SIRIUS HITS ONE – TOP 40 HITS

6001

SIRIUS SOUL REVUE-CLASSIC SOUL

6053

SIRIUS SPA 73 – NEW AGE

6073

SIRIUS SPECTRUM – WORLD CLASS ROCK

6018

SIRIUS SPIRIT – CHRISTIAN HITS

6066

SIRIUS SUPER SHUFFLE

6002

SIRIUS SYMPHONY HALL-SYMPHONIES

6080

SIRIUS THE COFFEE HOUSE

6032

SIRIUS THE METROPOLITAN OPERA CHANNEL

6085

SIRIUS THE PULSE-THE 90′S & NOW

6009

SIRIUS THE ROADHOUSE-CLASSIC COUNTRY

6062

SIRIUS THE STROBE-CLASSIC DISCO

6037

SIRIUS THE VAULT-DEEP CUTS CLASSIC ROCK

6016

SIRIUS TOTALLY 70′S – 70′S HITS

6007

SIRIUS UNIVERSO LATINO-LATIN POP MIX

6090

SITV

159

SITV

874

SOAPNET

188

SPEED CHANNEL, THE

150

SPEED CHANNEL, THE

891

SPIKE TV

168

SPORTS ALTERNATE 1

445

SPORTS ALTERNATE 2

446

SPORTS ALTERNATE 3

447

SPORTS ALTERNATE 4

448

SUN SPORTS

422

Sirius Lithium

6024

Sirius Punk Rock

6029

Siriusly Sinatra

6075

SportSouth

437

Sports Alternate 10

453

Sports Alternate 6

444

Sports Alternate 7

450

Sports Alternate 8

451

Sports Alternate 9

452

SportsNet New York

438

SportsTime Ohio

431

Starfish Television Network

9408

TELEFUTURA EAST

271

TELEFUTURA EAST

271

TELEFUTURA EAST

830

TELEFUTURA EAST

830

TELEFUTURA WEST

272

TELEFUTURA WEST

272

TELEFUTURA WEST

831

TELEFUTURA WEST

831

THE WATER CHANNEL

217

TOON DISNEY

174

TOON DISNEY

847

TRAVEL CHANNEL, THE

215

TRINITY BROADCASTING NETWORK

260

TRINITY BROADCASTING NETWORK

260

TURNER BROADCAST SYSTEM

139

TURNER CLASSIC MOVIES

132

TURNER NETWORK TELEVISION

138

TV GAMES NETWORK

405

TV Guide Network

117

TV LAND

106

The Bridge – Mellow Rock

6010

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

9710

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA

9412

UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON

9404

UNIVISION

270

UNIVISION

270

UNIVISION

827

UNIVISION

827

UNIVISION WEST

828

UNIVISION WEST

828

USA NETWORK

105

V-ME

9414

VH1

162

WE: WOMEN’S ENTERTAINMENT

128

WE: WOMEN’S ENTERTAINMENT

889

WEATHER CHANNEL, THE

214

WGN SUPERSTATION

239

WGN SUPERSTATION

881

iDRIVE TV

221

iSHOP

229

Note from the owner

chaze — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 02:02:18 +0000

I don’t usually talk much on our websites, I figure articles usually say it better the I would.

But This week I just got my Dish Network upgraded and thought I would share how I got there for the lowest price.

First I have been wanting a High Def and a Recorder forever, I had it years ago but switched to Direct TV because my new apartment had it built in for a lower price. And even when I moved back I was stuck in the contract and they wanted way too much to upgrade to HD. Seriously they wanted over $600 for the player and another $11 a month for HD and $6 a month for the Recorder option.

Too much money

So I bit the bullet and relied on my Xbox 360’s HD DVD player for my HD experience. Which BTW get Planet Earth by the BBC if you have a HD DVD it’s amazing!

The good news is that my contract ended and now I can go back to Dish Network and get the options I want.

So I went my special price program (the banner up top or this link work too Cheap Dish Network) I got a two year contract, the movie package HD, the medium channel package, and the recorder, all for no major up front costs like the $600+ Direct TV wanted.

Now I actually pay $10 less then Direct TV and have HD and the Recorder and the same channels AND too be honest I always liked Dish Networks menu better.

Anyways I hope this helps and I hope I didn’t bore anyone too bad.

Also remember too go for walks, watching too much TV means your breathing recycled air which can get toxins into your blood. You need fresh air to help your body clean it out. Or at least open a Window

Cable TV vs. satellite: Which is better for you?

chaze — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 22:18:27 +0000

In the early days of television, it was free. It still is, for people near big cities who get on-air signals directly and don’t want any fancy cable-only channels. But for most people in the mid-Hudson Valley, TV is far from free, with some enthusiasts spending well more than $100 a month for full-featured packages with add-ons.

That’s not counting the popular bundled deals that wrap in phone and broadband Internet service, too.

Bare-bones basic cable TV can be had for “up to $16.87,” according to Cablevision’s Web site. Time Warner Cable’s Web site doesn’t readily tell the price of basic, if it’s there at all.

What’s out there grows ever more varied as technology expands to carry a booming and sometimes bewildering proliferation of channels.

The choice of providers remains limited. Cable TV systems don’t compete against each other around here, so each town has only one franchise, even though federal law requires they be non-exclusive. There’s satellite TV, which has been growing in popularity, with two choices, DirecTV and Dish Network.

On the horizon is Verizon, with its FiOS TV, a promising new approach over fiber-optic phone lines that has not yet made its way into the mid-Hudson Valley but likely will in coming years, bringing another form of TV competition.

“It’s very expensive,” said Geraldine Johnson, who gets Cablevision at her Hopewell Junction home. “It’s so expensive, you just don’t know whether to keep it or not.”

With a bill running around $80 a month, she decided to drop the HBO movie service she had tried after deciding, “There wasn’t really anything on that I wanted to see.”

Theoretically, more competition holds down prices, which, nationwide, are rising faster than the general rate of inflation.

In December, the Federal Communications Commission released a report showing in 2004 cable prices nationwide rose an average of 5.2 percent for basic service, extra programming and equipment such as set-top boxes. From 1995, the rise totaled 93 percent.

Prices are 17 percent lower where cable competition is present, the report said.

Where direct satellite broadcasting is available, it did not appear to bring cable prices down, even where its penetration met the standard for “effective competition” by reaching 15 percent of homes, the commission said.

That 15 percent threshold in a given market can trigger the end of federal regulation of basic service prices there, under commission rules.

One observer of the broadcast scene, Michael Lanari of Beacon’s cable television committee, believes that threshold will be met soon, based on how many satellite dishes are showing up and the likely advent of Verizon’s FiOS.

Cablevision officials did not provide town-by-town basic subscriber rates when requested.

“We’ll be communicating those details directly to our customers in their individual notifications,” spokesman Jim Maiella said in an e-mail. He said there’s no 2007 price increase in “Family Cable,” also called expanded basic.

In November, Cablevision put out a statement saying average cable pricing would be up 1.1 percent on average across all levels of service.

The news release said “the 2007 adjustment continues a history of less significant increases in recent years, as the company has expanded its base of cable television customers and grown its online and voice businesses.”

That bottom-rung basic cable service, intended to make TV available to those with limited budgets, is rising at much faster rates than the Cablevision press releases would suggest.

Beacon’s basic rate in 2006 jumped to $13.03 from $11.17 a month, plus a 5.25 percent local franchise fee to the city and a 7 cent federal tax, a spokesman said then. That’s a jump of 16.7 percent.

Those franchise fees, by the way, are now worth about $150,000 to the city.

Most customers take something more elaborate than basic, including digital, high definition or phone and Internet service.

Cablevision adds digital signals and options for $9.95 a month, and packages in another 38 channels. The iO Silver package adds another 29 channels and costs $67.95. The top-of-line package is iO Gold for $87.95, which brings another 28 channels.

Phone, Internet service deals

Special deals are offered for adding in phone and Internet service. You should talk to a customer service representative to get a clear answer about how much the package costs after the special term is over.

Time Warner’s digital cable starter pack goes for $49.95 a month. There are numerous extra channels or add-on packages available. A Time Warner spokeswoman did not return calls for comment.

Measured another way, prices are getting better, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association said. In terms of real price-per-viewing-hour, cable costs fell from 24.16 cents per viewing hour in 1995 to 19.3 cents in 2005, expressed in 1995 dollars, the group said.

Satellite providers are advancing and essentially holding cable’s overall numbers from growing.

“We view this as a very competitive marketplace and it has been for some years now,” Joyce Sims, a spokeswoman for the cable association, said.

The satellite folks mince no words in selling their alternative.

“Current cable television customers know the reality of cable all too well: The bills keep getting bigger and the service keeps getting poorer,” reads the claim on the Boston-based satellitetv-hq.com Web site.

Any satellite service requires installing a dish, a receiver and a remote control. Internet service can be packaged in, as can HD, or high-definition, for extra charges. Phones aren’t part of these deals.

DirecTV, the nation’s largest with more than 15 million subscribers, offers a basic package of 155 channels for $49.95 with 18 local channels included. A 250-channel pack is $100.

DirecTV could not be reached for comment, but its third quarter report for 2006 said gross subscriber additions fell 9 percent, while higher quality subscribers — those who buy more services — grew 7 percent. Those subscribers “tend to buy more services — particularly high definition and digital video recorder services,” the release said.

EchoStar’s Dish Network, with more than 13 million subscribers, offers an economical “DishFamily Pak” of 40 channels for $19.95 and 23 local channels for an extra $5.99 a month. The “America’s Everything Pak” runs at $84.99 for 230 channels.

DISH Network lays claim to being “the fastest-growing pay-TV provider in the nation since 2000,” a recent news release said, “having added more than 7.74 million net new customers over the past six years — more than all other satellite TV and cable companies during the same period.”

Reach is better

One plus for satellite TV is it can reach just about anywhere. Some cable networks don’t reach all the way into rural hills and valleys.

Growth isn’t over. Patrick MacElroy, a Cablevision spokes-man, said the company has added basic cable customers in its tri-state area in each of the last 10 quarters. It has also recorded “explosive growth in our signature Optimum Online high-speed Internet and voice businesses.”

“Double Play” and “Triple Play” packaging of multiple services has paid off for Cablevision. It has more than 2 million Optimum Online customers and more than 1.1 million Optimum Voice customers, MacElroy said.

One form of competition that isn’t likely to happen is cable versus cable. Nothing bars it, but the practicality isn’t often there, Sims said.

“Two different companies need to go in and get two franchises and physically lay two separate cables,” she said. “One doesn’t necessarily want to compete against another one.”

In big cities, there may be “overbuilders” such as RCN Corp. that uses the physical networks of cable companies but cuts its own deals for programming. This occurs in parts of New York City, but has not been seen in the mid-Hudson region.

Another reason why cable versus cable isn’t likely is that they’ve got other things to do.

Cable companies are busy fending off satellite competitors with one hand while the other hand grabs market share in the Internet and phone spaces.

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