EchoStar would spend more than $100 million if it’s forced to com...
EchoStar would spend more than $100 million if it’s forced to comply with a single-dish mandate before 2008, it said in a quarterly report filed with the SEC. EchoStar customers in 38 of 120 U.S. markets now need a…
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2nd dish to receive local channels. If use of the 2nd dish is barred, as is currently being debated in Congress, EchoStar would be forced by satellite capacity limitations to move local channels to a new bird in up to 30 markets, the company said. “The transition would result in disruptions of service for a substantial number of customers” and could result in increased churn, it said. DirecTV executives also have told analysts that new customers in 24 markets that would get local channels from a satellite at 72.5 degrees W. will likely need a 2nd dish to receive them. Current customers in those markets would need to modify their existing dish, company officials said. Meanwhile, a hearing before the American Arbitration Assn. began on April 28 in N.Y.C. relating to EchoStar’s $219.3 million insurance claim for its EchoStar-4 satellite. EchoStar filed a claim for a total loss on EchoStar-4 in 1998 and a consortium of insurance carriers responded with an $88 million settlement offer. About 35 days of hearings have been conducted in N.Y.C. and London, where EchoStar is pursuing claims against Ace Bermuda Insurance, the company said.