Found this mention of LBRT in an otherwise OT article:
"The closest immediate threat to cable television is DBS (Direct Broadcase Satellite)," says Fred Fromm, co-manager of the $5.9 billion Franklin Income Fund (NASDAQ: FKINX). Fromm also advises a number of Franklin Group mutual funds with significant cable holdings. "This competition should come to a head in about 6 to 12 months," says Fromm. "Either DBS will lose customers and cable will dominate, or cable will lose subscribers and DBS will catch fire." Fromm estimates that DBS is adding three million subscribers per year, while cable TV is growing at about 1% to 3% per year, as calculated from the most recent quarter.
There are two big satellite players, EchoStar (NASDAQ: DISH), and Hughes Electronics (NYSE: GMH), in addition to several smaller players. PaineWebber thinks the satellite companies are continuing to up the ante in broadband features, noting that EchoStar has affiliated with interactive television (ITV) provider OpenTV Corp. (NASDAQ: OPTV) and the Israeli-based satellite communications company Gilat Communications (NASDAQ:GICOF) for two-way satellite and high-speed Internet transmission.
A smaller satellite player, Pegasus Communications (NASDAQ: PGTV), has paired with ITV mainstay Liberate Technologies (NASDAQ: LBRT). These partnerships are expected to make both EchoStar and Pegasus more competitive with cable.
"The cable story is not subscriber growth, but the ability to add new services," Fromm says.
Good luck,
Eric |
