DISH: An "Aggressive" Plan ...

With much of Wall Street pondering the question of what Charlie Ergen is up to, the satellite-plus billionaire wants everyone to know:  Yes, we have a plan.

But don't expect the DISH/EchoStar/Blockbuster et al crew to reveal it yet.  Speaking on an analyst conference call yesterday, Ergen said, "We're utilizing the Seinfeld strategy.  A lot of things happen at the start (of the show) and then come together in the last couple of minutes.  So you'll have to wait to see."

And the market believe him ... the stock closed $4.75/share higher, up almost 17%!

Some factors, however, became clear:  Ergen sees considerable competitive threat coming not just from other MVPDs but from the internet; he agrees with DIRECTV's strategy of getting subscribers connected to DISH offerings on the internet; he's keenly aware of the terrestrial potential of some of his satellite spectrum holdings (although he notes on DBSD:  "They already have a satellite capable of mobile video and are not required to build out beyond" that.); he's working hard on TV Everywhere rights and potential synergies with new friend and partner, TiVo; but he's not discounting the possibilities of brick and mortar.

On the Blockbuster purchase, he noted, "A lot of where the company goes depends on the studios .... Netflix has a formidable, maybe insurmountable lead in streaming, but that might not be best for the studios.  Blockbuster (with its physical presence offering DVDs) might provide a better financial model."

And as for these and other new acquisitions, "We're all offense" ... they're just not saying (yet) where the company is headed.

DISH also announced a new about $1B aggregate debt offering in securities offered to qualified investors (Rule 144A).•

Doing The HD Count

Like extracting a splinter on the first dip of a roller coaster, counting HD carriage is not for the faint hearted.

No matter what you do, there's gonna be blood.  So get out your bandages.

For this look at the HD universe, we're starting with four top MVPDs:  AT&T U-verse, DIRECTV, DISH and Verizon FiOS.  (And yes, we will get to the cable operators as soon as we can all agree on what makes the "fairest" count for the multi-system cable cos.)  Our goal is to produce the most unbiased possible look at the number of HD networks carried by each provider.  In short, who's really got the most?  

The "most," of course, will depend on how you count those HD nets.  From our experience there are enough ways to count so that every one of these players can claim "No. 1!" at one point or another.  But this is our publication so we'll set the rules (and, believe us, it wasn't easy).  Anyway, here goes ....

•  We are including only networks that might reasonably be called national.  That is, NO local broadcasters and NO regional sports or news nets;

•  We include only ONE feed per network.  Thus duplicated feeds, such as East and West, are counted only as one;

•  Sports packages, such as the NHL Center Ice, are counted as ONE; 

•  We include only full time networks,  ie, no part time nets;

•  We do NOT include VOD services; and finally:

•  We make no differentiation based on type of programming.  Thus everything from DIRECTV's two 3D networks to Verizon FiOS's host of specialty HD offerings (such as Pets.tv devoted to ... you guessed it, pets) are included.

Will our counts be perfect?  Oh, please .... Will they give you a good idea of today's HD competitive landscape?  Yes, they will.  And what will you see?

It's a pretty even playing field.  Out of the 168 HD nets qualifying under our rules Verizon FiOS took top place with 120, or around 71%, carried; DIRECTV came in last with 107 networks, or around 64%, carried.  All four services carry all the majors, with the exception of DISH which is missing some Disney/ESPN nets due to ongoing litigation.  

For a list of the networks included and their carriage by company (as of late April 2011), please contact Robert Lehmann at lehmannr@mediabiz.com.•

Etc: DISH v. Sprint – Hispanic Viewing – Comcastic Synergy

In the Courts:  Saying it spent a whole lot of money to relocate its services for bankrupt DBSD, Sprint wants putative buyer DISH to cough up more than $100M.  DISH says "prove it."  It's all in federal bankruptcy court in New York.

Online:  Google is working on the next generation of Google TV ... ready maybe by June. --- Assuming no lockout, DIRECTV and Comcast are looking at bringing the NFL Red Zone to tablets and computers.

Multicultural:  In what it calls an ongoing shift from broadcast to cable, the Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau says that nearly 20% of Hispanic P18-49 television viewing in Spanish today going to cable networks.  

People:  Comcast financial whiz Julian Brodsky will retire from the company's board on May 11, the date of the annual shareholders meet.

Strategies:  The WSJ tells us that "synergy" is in at Comcast/NBCU.  No surprise there. --- Verizon has created a "Verizon Strategic Initiatives Council" to attempt to coordinate new in-home product initiatives such as its new health service for seniors.

Programming:  Looks like more money (again) for OWN as Oprah Winfrey's Discovery partner says it to will likely sweeten the pot of $216M already invested. --- FEARnet HD is expanding to TWC, Verizon FiOS and Comcast. --- The Outdoor Channel has new carriage on Charter systems in Texas, as shown on the map here, from the MapELEMENTS partnership between The Morning BRIDGE parent MediaBiz and American Roamer.  

SkyREPORT:  SES has a new management structure designed to bring SES Astra and SES World Skies together.  Romain Bausch remains chairman and CEO of SES; former CEO of SES World Skies, Robert Bednarek, moves into position as strategic advisor to Bausch.  --- Eutelsat has hired Marc Welinski as director of marketing and commercial strategy.  Welinski comes to the group from his former position as managing director of CielEcran. 

Get tomorrow's headlines today with The Evening BRIDGE ... every weekday, after the Bell.•