Satellite TV widens orbit DirecTV, EchoStar and others grabbed market share from cable firms in 1998
cnnfn.com
December 17, 1998: 2:54 p.m. ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Direct broadcast satellite
television services added subscribers at a faster rate
than monopoly cable companies in the 12-month period
ended in July, the Federal Communications Commission
said Thursday.
Direct broadcast providers like EchoStar
Communications Corp. (DISH) and Hughes Electronics'
DirecTV had 7.2 million subscribers in July 1998, up
from 5 million a year earlier, according to the FCC's
annual competition report. Hughes Electronics is a
subsidiary of automaker General Motors. (GM)
Basic cable had 65.4 million subscribes, up from 64.2
million a year earlier, the agency said.
Although satellites are providing competition for
cable systems, "some barriers to competition remain,"
said Deborah Lathen, head of the FCC's cable services
bureau. The biggest barrier for satellite services remains
a law greatly limiting their ability to give customers
programming from local television stations, she said.
FCC chairman William Kennard urged Congress to
change the law and allow more local programming on
satellite services.
Lawmakers considered legislation to change the law
but ran out of time to find a compromise approach. |
