I didn't get a replay number, but I was on the live call. Here are some of the important points given by the SFA CEO:
Echostar/AskyB and DirectTV/Primestar deals put more competitive pressure on the cable companies to provide different services beyond simple digital broadcast channel capacity.
Going only broadcast digital now (more channels with digital/analog hybrid box or simply using the new digital box for more channels and interactive menu) rather than going interactive will be a mistake for the cable MSO's.
VOD is the holy grail and the satellite companies don't have and wont have for some time. VOD will be the single biggest difference between the cable offering and the satellite offering.
SFA now has 17 MSO's as customers, has installed 33 end to end systems, has recieved orders for 89 head ends that cover 17 million subscribers.
Digital boxes have just begun deployment into homes by MSO's. The initial take rate is over 80% in the 8 systems that have gone live. Between 5,000 and 10,000 Explorer 2000 boxes are in homes and they are moving at a rate of 30 to 50 per day ramping up to 300 to 500 per day.
Subscribers very happy with the boxes (even though no applications have been turned on yet except for the interactive progam guide). MSO's love the digital head end system and how they can monitor and gather marketing information from viewers.
CEO mentioned all the companies they are working with and in what areas: IBM/e-commerce, MSFT/WebTV, Sun/personal Java, Power TV/set top OS and applications, Seachange-Concurrent/VOD.
SFA has gone from making 5,000 Explorer 2000's per week to 10,000. They will be making 20,000 per week in a matter of months.
Q & A session with my comments.
One analyst asked when the interactive applications will be deployed. He said it is hard to tell a client the SFA story and not be able to show them the interactive systems in use and generating revenue and consumer interest. CEO said that they are ready and have been ready to deploy ALL applications including VOD. The customer is waiting to hit the 5 to 10 percent penetration of set top boxes in a digital market before they launch applications. He said that they ARE ready and can deploy in a matter of WEEKS.
(TM was proven very wrong by CEO's explination of the system. SFA has built the network and running the applications is not a matter of some massive technical hurdles or as yet undeveloped technologies, it is simply a matter of the customer saying DO IT!)
For the first time, Sun's name came up when CEO was asked about a VOD system that was used for testing. (Sun really isn't a competitor on a cost/performance basis, but their servers can run Oracle Video server software and execute VOD, also, Sun servers already reside at many head end systems already). When pressed as to which company should be looked at as a play on the digital roll out, CEO said he didn't give stock advice.
In summary, SFA says they are and have been ready to flick the application switch when the MSO says go. Athena TV is ready so Time Warner can now deliver digital programming to their head end systems without having to go through TCI and GI's HITS (head end in the sky). Lastly, CEO stated that by Spring, all 17 MSO's will have launched thier digital systems. |
