DirecTV and EchoStar face slower growth in 2007
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U.S. satellite TV operators DirecTV  Group Inc. and EchoStar Communications Corp. are expected to  report steady subscriber growth in the fourth quarter, but face  a slowdown this year due to increased competition from cable,  analysts said.
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Thousands of Americans have defected to satellite TV as the providers have reported hefty gains while the cable industry has declined. Consumers likely will see aggressive marketing promotions in the next six months as companies jockey for customers, analysts say.
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United Parcel Service Inc.  on Tuesday provided a full-year outlook for 2007 below analysts' forecasts, citing a slowing U.S. economy, and its shares fell 3 percent.
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XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc.   XMSR.O and rival Sirius Satellite Radio SIRI.O on Wednesday   posted quarterly subscriber growth that fell short of   expectations, and their shares dropped despite reiterating   full-year estimates.
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Company reports a decline in its router business during its quarterly earnings, which barely met analyst expectations.
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Major League Baseball is nearing  completion of a controversial $700 million deal with satellite  purveyor DirecTV Group Inc.  to exclusively air its  out-of-market package of games for the next seven years, The  Wall Street Journal reported.
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DirecTV Group Inc., the largest U.S.  satellite television operator, on Tuesday posted weak quarterly  subscriber growth in the face of competition from cable  companies, but profit rose due to a gain from an accounting  change.
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Time Warner has reported revenue growth of 5% for its third quarter, but net income declined. The company may also have to restate its financial results for 2002 in connection with the investigation of accounting
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- Auto accessories maker Directed Electronics Inc.  cut its 2006 outlook citing lower-than-anticipated sales of satellite radio receivers.
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The nation's largest satellite television provider saw its net profit shrink by two percent and customer growth remained flat.
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Restrained by a worse-than-expected slump in housing, the economy will grow at the slowest pace in five years in 2007, leading economic forecasters say. They predict consumers will get a break on inflation from falling energy prices.
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The broadcast companyâs loss stemmed from write-downs, breakup costs and weak advertising sales.
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BSkyB reports a rise in first quarter profits and sales but there is further evidence that subscriber growth is slowing down.
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DirecTV Group, the No. 1 U.S.  satellite television provider, posted stronger-than-expected  quarterly subscriber growth on Wednesday, sending its shares up  more than 7 percent.
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(InfoWorld) - Vonage Holdings lost less money in the fourth quarter of 2006 than a year earlier, but it didn't attract as many new subscribers to its VOIP (voice over Internet Protocol) service despite heavy marketing. The company, a pioneer in selling phone service that uses packet data networks instead of traditional circuits, now faces competition from cable operators and the established telecommunications carriers. The big players recognize the potential cost benefits of the technology as well as its flexibility, including the ability to give subscribers a browser-based portal for using voice mail and changing service preferences. But those big players are also bundling VOIP with other services, such as broadband Internet access and TV. Vonage ended the fourth quarter with a net gain of 166,267 subscriber lines, bringing its customer base to more than 2.2 million. But that was less than the 204,591 subscribers it gained the previous quarter as well as its gain in the fourth quarter of 2005, when it added 207,252 subscribers. Revenue soared to $181 million, up 91 percent from a year earlier, and the company's net loss narrowed. Vonage lost $65 million, or $0.42 per share, compared with a loss of $72 million in the fourth quarter of 2005. The company's margins also improved, according to a statement Thursday. But Vonage has built its business on being an early mover and drawing a big base of customers that can later drive profits. The company's marketing costs still amounted to 53 percent of revenue in the fourth quarter, although this was down from 71 percent a year earlier. Vonage still expects to reach its goal of making an operating profit, adjusted for certain factors, as early as the first quarter of 2008, the statement said. The company's stock (VG) dropped sharply after its initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange last May at $17. Among other things, investors worried about the company's losses and growing competition. On Thursday afternoon local time, the share price was down $0.42 at $5.42. Though the future is cloudy for dedicated VOIP companies, VOIP itself is looming larger in major service providers' plans, according to IDC analyst Will Stofega. For example, mobile operators are looking at VOIP overÂ combined cell and Wi-Fi phonesÂ as a way to improve in-home coverage without the expense of beefing up the cellular network itself. However, it's too soon to count out Vonage. The company has started to focus on small and medium-size businesses, where it faces less competition from cable operators, Stofega said. Consumers may also see providers such as Vonage get into mobility themselves. Vonage could buy minutes from a cellular carrier and offer a service that lets subscribers hop on to Vonage via Wi-Fi at home, Stofega said. It has no traditional cellular minutes business to protect and could move early, jump-starting the trend, he added. The company could also team up with public hotspot providers or a municipal Wi-Fi operator such as EarthLink to provide mobile service over those networks, he added. But both of these are hard ways to make a profit, Stofega said.
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Bigger is better, right? Not so fast. Corporate America appears to have had second thoughts in 2007.
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New customer additions slowed at the cable company amid intensified competition from phone and satellite TV companies.