(return to home page) WHO WE ARE About the company E-mail us! Address and phone numbers OUR PRODUCTS Satellite Business News FaxUPDATE Trade Show Dailies Trade Show Videos ONLINE NEWS & INFORMATION Changing Channels Digital TV Beat Scanning the Skies Industry Stats A Look Back: Satellite TV History SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION Sign up for the magazine and the fax Get back issues Read past show news ADVERTISING INFORMATION Ads in the magazine Ads in the fax Trade Show Products Online ads: The latest, hippest way to get your name out there! About our readers

Primestar Restructuring May Begin Next Week Carl Vogel's reshaping of Primestar may begin next week, when certain functions and jobs considered redundant are eliminated, sources said. The company currently has approximately 2,200 employees, and there were indications this week as many as 200 jobs may be eliminated. The main impetus behind the move is Vogel's view the company must be streamlined to become more competitive, sources said, and must start the process of building an organizational structure in anticipation of one day operating as a high-power DBS business. Part of that, they said, is due to the merging of the various Primestar partner organizations into one company, which was completed this week. Though most of the layoffs will be among staff and field level employees, sources said, it is possible some senior staff may be impacted. Primestar executives said the company has received a strong reaction from satellite dealers here but it has been hampered in efforts to cement relationships with dealers because of the uncertainty about the company's high-power future. At the same time, talks continue on Primestar's efforts to restructure the company's ownership to eliminate or reduce the cable companies' equity in response to the Department of Justice. As reported, News Corp. and Liberty Media may wind up controlling Primestar, through United Video Satellite Group, which News Corp. and Liberty will own after that company is restructured. Executives See Future in Cable Customers Representatives from U.S. Satellite Broadcasting, DirecTv, and Primestar met dealers yesterday in a panel discussion designed to help DBS dealers find potential customers. A representative from EchoStar was invited, but could not attend. USSB manager of marketing research Mariah Phillips, Primestar Director of Market Research Lynne Bartos, and Kathy Reiderscheid director of market research at DirecTv, told dealers they must go after current cable customers over all other potential consumers. Phillips also stressed the importance of movies to driving DBS system sales, stating her research shows 60 percent of USSB customers cite movies as one of the reasons they subscribe to the service. In addition, she said the company's free month of Entertainment Unlimited is a large draw for consumers, although "only 39 percent of consumers said the salesperson told them about the free month." About 70 percent of DirecTv's new subscribers come from "cable passed areas," Reiderscheid said. She also noted a larger percentage of new consumers are coming from urban areas than in past years. The choice of programming and flexible hardware offers are also key factors in luring cable subscribers to DBS, Bartos said. She outlined the company's new Value Lease program, which allows customers to pay $99 down when their system is installed to reduce their monthly bills by $7. Cable subscribers have responded well to the offer, Bartos said. (click on the ad below to visit advertiser's web site) NEXT PAGE   July 23 daily   July 24 daily         Please direct questions about this site to general.mail@satbiznews.com q 1999 Satellite Business News Inc. All rights reserved.