MDUs. One dish, many set top boxes......................
multichannel.com
DirecTv Signs MDU Deal with Wireless One
By MONICA HOGAN
Wireless One Inc., a wireless cable operator based in Jackson, Miss., said last week that it has signed a marketing arrangement with DirecTv Inc. to offer the direct-broadcast satellite company's digital programming to multiple-dwelling unit subscribers in the operator's Southeastern U.S. territories.
The deal should help both companies in their efforts to crack the lucrative MDU business. DirecTv's programming alleviates Wireless One's channel constraints, Gerard Klauer Mattison & Co. analyst Arthur Newman noted. And the wireless cable firm brings local marketing and service employees -- and local programming, which DirecTv lacks.
Henry Burkhalter, president and CEO of Wireless One, said the MDUs in Wireless One's footprint represent about 2.2 million units, and the company hopes to reach a 20 percent market share by the year 2001. Wireless One will target apartment buildings, colleges, condominiums, hotels, motels, hospitals and nursing homes with its offering of as many as 206 channels.
Wireless One has already made MDU commitments for 10,000 units as a result of the deal, Burkhalter said.
The MDU service will use multiswitch technology to allow Wireless One to combine the company's microwave analog signals with DirecTv's Digital Satellite System programming without running additional wiring to each unit. Subscribers would need a DSS integrated receiver/decoder to access DirecTv programming, such as the NFL Sunday Ticket package of out-of-market National Football League games, and up to 55 pay-per-view movies per night.
John McKee, vice president of special markets and distribution for DirecTv, said Wireless One's ability to provide local signals is "a big win for our end-consumer." In the past, most MDU properties that chose DSS programming used large master antennas to pick up local signals, he said.
DirecTv also benefits from Wireless One's strong local marketing and customer-service presence, while Wireless One will gain MDU sales referrals from DirecTv.
In order to offer all DSS programming, Wireless One would have to negotiate a separate deal with U.S. Satellite Broadcasting, which offers premium-movie channels such as Home Box Office and Showtime to DSS subscribers. At press time, USSB could not be reached for comment on its plans for dealing with Wireless One.
Walt Eilers, vice president of public relations for Wireless One, said there may be some overlap of programming between the company's analog services and the DirecTv channels. In such a case, he said, only one of the redundant signals would be sent to the subscriber's home.
McKee said DirecTv is in talks with other small cable and wireless cable companies across the country about partnering in order to offer more comprehensive MDU services. "We'd like to have more arrangements similar to this one," he said.
The company is also exploring the possibility of extending such alliances to single-family homes in the future. The distribution technology would be different for single-family home arrangements than for the current MDU deal.
Wireless One's stock rose sharply on the news, closing at $3.63 per share, up $1.25. |
