Inside Charlie's Brain

What, oh what, is Charlie Ergen thinking?  BTIG's Richard Greenfield (who came up with today's too-good-not-to-steal headline) says the DISH-EchoStar-Blockbuster etc. etc. honcho is "clearly worried about his core distribution business and has begun to take aggressive measures in 2011 to build a next-generation DISH Network."  

Notes Greenfield, Ergen has been dropping sports programming (bye bye Fox RSNs, MSG, SNY); buying wireless spectrum, giving away free year deals to various premium nets, and apparently challenging Netflix via the purchase of Blockbuster, which, by the way, closed Tuesday.  So what's he gonna do with all that?  Who knows? says Greenfield.  But a hybrid model is one good bet ... as is a challenge to Netflix.  To get the full post, go here (and don't forget to register.)•

Inside the Beltway: NAB on Spectrum; Small Cable on Compulsory Licensing

• No, we got no spectrum problem, the NAB told the FCC.  A NAB-commissioned study from former FCC broadband legal adviser Uzoma Onyeije says, The factual basis for the 'spectrum crisis' claim is underwhelming.'  He suggests a variety of techno boosts.  The Commission says, Nah, it's a real crunch and could soon be a crisis.

• U.S. Copyright Office got a filing from ACA, NTCA, OPASTCO and WTA supporting retention of the compulsory license system ...  "This is a classic case of ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” ACA CEO Matt Polka said.  “The current system has served the needs of everyone well for more than thirty years.  All of the proposed alternatives to the current compulsory licensing system would be a step backward and hurt consumers served by ACA members.”•

Etc: No Worries from Netflix? – PlayStation Take Down – TV Buyers Up

Netflix as Supplement:  More from the Netflix Q1 report as CEO Reed Hastings tells the WSJ that the results show an "amazing milestone in the negative, which is DTVs topping out."  But MVPDs shouldn't worry about Netflix replacing their services, said the company's report, "the data shows that Netflix is a supplemental channel to MVPD."

Retail:  Good news for TV makers and retailers:  Researchers at DisplaySearch say global replacement purchases are running at a 10 year (or so) record pace.  Digital transitions and more affordable flat panel TVs get the credit.  For the next wave of replacements, the researchers say connected TVs will be a hit, passing 123M units in 2014.

Over, Up & Under There:  The U.K. Tesco's, which accounts for around 12.5% of the total U.K. consumer spend, is buying 80% of VOD aggregator Blinkbox.
 
SkyREPORT:  SES S.A. says it will invest €34M ($49.77M) in new state-of-the-art satellite control facilities plus an additional business center. 

Programming:  NFL players are officially unlocked (for now) thanks to a federal judge.  But the NFL has asked for a stay.

Online:  Sony reported that a hacker had accessed customer info, including perhaps credit-card #s, for the 77M members of PlayStation Network ... so it took it down.  In considerably cheerier news for the company, the Sony tablet, with one version for "rich media entertainment" and one for "mobile communication and entertainment," will be available in the fall. --- The Wrap reports that YouTube could launch its paid VOD service as early as next week. --- Suddenlink is the latest to add HBO Go and MaxGo for subscribers.  Others with the service are AT&T U-verse, Comcast, Cox, DIRECTV, DISH and Verizon FiOS.

Folks: BlackArrow added industry vet Don Gordon as SVP-Technology. --- Cox named Kelly Williams VP-Wireless Product & Ops. --- Katie Couric officially needs a new job.

Analyze This: Knology reported 1Q11 revenues up 16.2% with EBITDA up 26% y/y. Total connections increased 6,729 during the first quarter of 2011 to 773,090 as of quarter end, up 9.9% y/y. --- Rogers 1Q11 revenues grew 4% to C$3B or C$76¢/share, up 13%.  Wireless added 45K net new postpaid subs; cable ops adjusted operating profit jumped 12% driving margins to 47% on continued sub growth. --- Amazon reported net sales up 38% y/y to $9.86B; but eps reported at 44¢ in the face of Wall Street expectations of 61¢ ... spending on new projects was the reason.

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