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TAKE A LOOK AT OTHER YEARS:
1998 1997
1996 1995
1994 1992
1991 1990
1989
1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1992 1991 1990 1989
JANUARY THROUGH APRIL
January: The Federal Communications Commission begins
its inquiry into competition in the satellite decoder market
and future compatibility among encryption systems. Titan Satellite
Systems Corp. and General Instrument Corp.'s VideoCipher Division
have the most at stake in the proceeding. (Satellite Business
News, Jan. 13, 1993)
Jan. 7: Paul Allen, considered the white knight who could
get SkyPix into the air, withdraws his bankruptcy reorganization
plan for the troubled DBS venture. (Satellite Business News,
Jan. 13, 1993)
Jan. 13: The Satellite Broadcasting and Communications
Association holds its winter show in San Diego. Many blame the
show's low attendance on poor weather: It rained every day, and
many areas were flooded. (Satellite Business News, Jan.
27, 1993)
February: House copyright subcommittee Chairman Bill Hughes
(D-N.J.) introduces a bill to extend compulsory license protection
for superstations. (Satellite Business News, Feb. 24,
1993)
Feb. 12: Titan Satellite Systems drops its challenge to
the industry's dominant encryption system. President Tom Ortolf
blames the venture's demise on its inability to sign either HBO
Direct Inc. or Showtime Satellite Networks Inc. to back it. (Satellite
Business News, Feb. 24, 1993)
Feb. 24: Satellite TV industry leaders meet to discuss
a new piracy problem that caused a dramatic slowdown in sales.
As a growing number of hackers are stealing signals from the
VideoCipher commercial data stream, GI plans more electronic
countermeasures to frustrate pirates. (Satellite Business
News, Feb. 24, 1993)
March 3: Hubbard Broadcasting Inc.'s USSB announces exclusive
agreements to distribute four of the top five premium services
on the DBS-1 satellite. USSB will sell multiplex feeds from Viacom
and Time Warner. (Satellite Business News, March 10, 1993)
March 22: Little more than a month after Titan Satellite
Systems halted production of its Linkabit SCS module, Titan Corp.
files suit against Charlie Ergen and Houston Tracker Systems
Corp. Titan alleges Ergen and HTS did not live up to the task
of netting programmers. (Satellite Business News, April
1, 1993)
APRIL THROUGH AUGUST
April 1:
The FCC releases the results of its encryption technologies competition
inquiry, but much of it is moot since Titan's venture ended.
The agency says it cannot resolve many of the issues raised by
inquiry respondents. (Satellite Business News, April 7,
1993)
April 1: The FCC adopts rules devised for key measures of
the 1992 Cable Act, including program access, which is considered
pivotal for many in the satellite TV industry. New federal regulations
on cable TV rates and program delivery are released, but the
cable industry vows to fight on. (Satellite Business News,
April 21, 1993)
April 28: Showtime Networks Inc. and parent company Viacom
International sue GI, charging the VideoCipher Division violated
the contract that cemented GI's dominance in the decoder market.
(Satellite Business News, May 19, 1993)
May 20: TVRO industry leaders tell Congress that the satellite
industry, as much as the cable TV and the telephone industries,
should be an important part of the coming "information highway."
(Satellite Business News, June 2, 1993)
June: GI's decision to use the international digital standard
set by the Moving Picture Experts Group means the rollout of
its digital satellite receiver will be delayed several months.
Dish owners will not be able to receive new, digitally transmitted
multiplex services until perhaps a year after some cable systems
carry them. (Satellite Business News, June 30, 1993)
June: Anti-piracy moves begin to affect TVRO sales. Back
offices report strong subscription sales, and GI changes its
sales projections to reflect the predicted increases. (Satellite
Business News, June 30, 1993)
June 1: Primestar Partners L.P. makes programming changes
as the service gears up to compete with DirecTv and USSB. (Satellite
Business News, June 2, 1993)
June 3: DBS stands out as one of few stars during a quiet
Summer Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago. (Satellite Business
News, June 16, 1993)
June 6: The cable industry gathers in San Francisco for
its annual show, facing the uncertainty of government regulation
and pushing a 500-channel, interactive future. (Satellite
Business News, June 2, 1993)
June 9: Primestar's cable MSO owners announce an antitrust
settlement with state and federal officials that could pave the
way for it to compete with DirecTv and USSB. (Satellite Business
News, June 16, 1993)
June 29: GI countersues Showtime, denying it owes the
programmer module royalties and claiming Showtime owes GI more
than $5 million. (Satellite Business News, July 14, 1993)
July: Thomson announces satellite dealers will have a
major role in DBS and names five distributors to carry its line:
Echosphere Corp., Warren Supply Co., Earth Terminal TV Ltd.,
Consumer Satellite Systems Inc., and DSI Distributing Inc. (Satellite
Business News, July 14, 1993)
July 1: Primestar announces plans to go to high power
as early as mid- 1996, a move deemed necessary to compete with
DirecTv. (Satellite Business News, July 14, 1993)
July 14: Nashville's Opryland Hotel hums with energy as
the satellite TV industry gathers for the SBCA's summer trade
show. More than 6,400 people attend the event, many attracted
by news of DBS. (Satellite Business News, July 28, 1993)
July 14: DirecTv tells dealers it plans to sell its DBS
service primarily through well-positioned, financially stable
satellite dealers and pay commissions on all but pay-per-view
orders. (Satellite Business News, July 28, 1993)
August: Nearly 30 top satellite TV companies decide to
join a public relations campaign to push the industry's image
amid the growing hype about digital television ventures. (Satellite
Business News, Aug. 11, 1993)
August: A surge in VC II conversions, combined with an
increase in new satellite systems sales, creates a major decoder
module shortage, depleted inventories, and few options to replenish
supplies. The wholesale price of modules distributors sell to
other distributors rises to $349. (Satellite Business News,
Aug. 11, 1993)
August: A General Accounting Office study concludes some
co-ops who borrow money from the Rural Electrification Administration
enjoy numerous advantages in competing with TVRO dealers and
distributors. (Satellite Business News, Aug. 25, 1993)
Aug. 3: Primestar announces a plan to offer up to 70 channels
by mid- 1994 and says it will use GI's DigiCipher I receivers
in a deal valued at $250 million. (Satellite Business News,
Aug. 11, 1993)
Aug. 23: USSB takes a stance opposite DirecTv on Primestar's
antitrust settlement by endorsing the deal's program exclusivity
section. (Satellite Business News, Aug. 25, 1993)
Aug. 31: The NRTC raises only about half the $250 million
it promised to invest in DirecTv, greatly reducing the areas
in which co-ops have exclusive rights to distribute the DBS service
in rural America. (Satellite Business News, Sept. 22,
1993)
SEPTEMBER THROUGH DECEMBER
September: Thomson
says a glitch in its encoding system will not delay DirecTv's
and USSB's April 1 launch. (Satellite Business News, Oct.
6, 1993)
Sept. 7: Lured by a fake VC II Plus break, hackers take a
blow with the U.S. Customs arrest of key underground players
in a New Orleans sting operation. (Satellite Business News,
Sept. 22, 1993)
Sept. 12: Viacom and QVC Networks dominate the news on
Wall Street as they battle for Paramount Communications, Hollywood's
last major independent studio. (Satellite Business News,
Oct. 6, 1993)
Sept. 23: Viacom changes the nature of its long and complicated
relationship with Tele-Communications Inc. by filing a lawsuit
that publicly displays many of the red flags Viacom has been
waving for years. The suit blasts TCI President John Malone,
portraying him as a monopolist. (Satellite Business News,
Oct. 6, 1993)
October: The module shortage worsens, even with GI and
Channel Master working at full capacity. Module prices jump to
as much as $429. GI suspends anti-piracy measures, but programmers
continue shutting off commercial data streams. (Satellite
Business News, Oct. 20, 1993)
October: Just months before the first high-power DBS reception
systems are slated to be shipped, many predict major system shortages,
which would leave C-band in the satellite TV driver's seat for
much of 1994. (Satellite Business News, Oct. 20, 1993)
October: Sony closes deals with Hughes and Thomson to
become the second reception system supplier for DirecTv and USSB
after Thomson's exclusive window closes. (Satellite Business
News, Nov. 3, 1993)
Oct. 13: Bell Atlantic and TCI announce a $33 million
merger plan that sends the communications industry into a frenzy.
But the merger faces tough government scrutiny. (Satellite
Business News, Oct. 20, 1993)
Oct. 29: A GI memo outlines its plans to sell VC II modules
directly to consumers in an attempt to alleviate consumer concern
about module supplies and to end price gouging. The TVRO industry
reacts angrily, and GI says it will stop ads it placed in programming
guides. (Satellite Business News, Nov. 17, 1993)
November: The copyright bill to extend the satellite compulsory
license for superstations apparently will not reach a vote on
Capitol Hill this year, but many say they are optimistic a bill
will pass in 1994. (Satellite Business News, Nov. 17,
1993)
Nov. 16: The FCC benchmark for companies to begin filing
program access complaints against programmers and distributors
arrives. DirecTv says it has no immediate plans to file a complaint,
despite unfruitful negotiations with programmers and USSB to
distribute premium satellite services. (Satellite Business
News, Nov. 17, 1993)
Nov. 19: The NRTC begins formally lobbying the FCC for
help obtaining the premium programming services it wants to sell
via the 101-degree DBS orbital slot. (Satellite Business News,
Dec. 15, 1993)
Nov. 23: GI tells some satellite dealers it will stop
including VideoPal pay-per-view modems in all VC II modules to
begin phasing out analog decoder modules. For most of 1994, GI
will sell its international analog module, which does not include
a modem, but not at a reduced price. (Satellite Business News,
Dec. 15, 1993)
Dec. 17: DBS-1, the nation's first high-power DBS satellite,
launches from French Guiana. The bird was designed to carry programming
for DirecTv and USSB. (Satellite Business News, Dec. 29,
1993)
|
January: The Federal Communications Commission begins
its inquiry into competition in the satellite decoder market
and future compatibility among encryption systems. Titan Satellite
Systems Corp. and General Instrument Corp.'s VideoCipher Division
have the most at stake in the proceeding. (Satellite Business
News, Jan. 13, 1993) |
April 1:
The FCC releases the results of its encryption technologies competition
inquiry, but much of it is moot since Titan's venture ended.
The agency says it cannot resolve many of the issues raised by
inquiry respondents. (Satellite Business News, April 7,
1993) |
September: Thomson
says a glitch in its encoding system will not delay DirecTv's
and USSB's April 1 launch. (Satellite Business News, Oct.
6, 1993) |
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