EchoStar found a willing recipient for their absurd DISH City Makeover promotion which launched in August. In exchange for selling out, all 125 residents of DISH, Texas (formerly Clark) will receive 10 years of DISH Network programming. While this promotion officially ended November 1, it appears EchoStar is willing to take on other cities. So if your town has no pride and you dig free satellite TV, you can ring them up at CityMakeover@dishnetwork.com.

EchoStar says : As of today, Clark, Texas, a small tight-knit bedroom community located a half hour north of Fort Worth, Texas, has legally changed its name to DISH, Texas. In exchange, DISH Network has agreed to provide every household in the town of DISH 10 years of free basic satellite TV programming, including equipment and standard installation. DISH Network introduced the DISH City Makeover as part of recent re-branding efforts and a new advertising campaign trumpeting “Better TV for All.”

As previously reported, 72 XM stations were scheduled to debut on DirecTV today… and they did. Tim Bilbro, my man in the field, provided some pics and commentary: “The sound is crystal clear and stereo. The rating systems work with your parental controls as well. The display of what’s playing on screen is off on some channels.” Despite the sporadic song info synchronization issue, it sounds good to me as a free upgrade!
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How much are you willing to pay for commercial-free TV? How much would you pay to watch that content through a DVR which already let’s you bypass commercials? DirecTV and NBC think you’ll pony up 99 cents a show using their new DVR, available at Best Buy and Circuit City later this month.

We’ve definitely entered an era of exerpimentation (iPod shows @ $1.99, Time Warner’s VOD) with companies trying to figure out what we want to watch, where we want to watch it, and what we’re willing to pay.

DirecTV says: NBC Universal and DIRECTV, Inc., today announced a first of its kind agreement that will give consumers access to the top programs of NBC and its cable entertainment networks, USA, SCI FI and Bravo, within hours after they air, commercial free, for just 99 cents. The programs will be available on demand through the new DIRECTV Plus interactive DVR. “The way people are consuming content is changing,” said David Zaslav, President, NBC Universal Cable. “Through this agreement with DIRECTV, consumers will be able to watch top NBC content on demand for just $0.99, when they want, without commercials. It’s a huge sea change. This deal is the first of its kind and we value DIRECTV’s partnership in rolling it out.”

DirecTV and LG have announced a partnership to produce set-top boxes capable of decoding MPEG-4 HD broadcasts. As with the phasing out of analog TV, the conversion to MPEG-4 will most likely take some time - your current DTV hardware is safe… for now. Additionally, these new Linux-based LG boxes will support pre-existing MPEG-2 and standard definition broadcasts.

LG says: LG Electronics, Inc. has begun production of set-top boxes for use in DIRECTV’s MPEG-4 HD satellite broadcasts. “Consumer demand for HD is exploding, and DIRECTV is ushering in a new era in satellite delivery of HD content using a powerful new broadcasting technology, MPEG-4,” said Romulo Pontual, executive vice president and chief technology officer, DIRECTV, Inc. “This will enable us to greatly enhance our customers’ viewing experience by offering the widest array of HD programming available.”

Dish Network has just released their custom branded Archos portable media devices. They come in three flavors, corresponding to various LCD and hard drive sizes at different price points: $329, $499, $599. Dish, part owner of Archos, includes support for high-speed Dish DVR downloads.

Dish Network says: With the choice of a crystal-clear 2.2-inch, 4-inch or 7-inch LCD screen, PocketDISH is one of the most advanced portable media devices available and provides consumers the ultimate convenience in how they watch television. Compatible with most TVs and consumer electronic devices on the market today, the units can download or record content from a PC or Mac, digital cameras, mass storage devices, as well as other video or audio sources such as DVD players, camcorders and VCRs. DISH Network customers will enjoy a special feature of ultra-fast video transfer speeds when attaching PocketDISH to select DISH Network digital video recorders (DVRs) via a USB 2.0 connection. For instance, an hour of DISH Network programming can be transferred to the PocketDISH hard drive in about five minutes.

DirecTV starts peddling their new DVR this week, but in the long run will it be competition or commission for TiVo? If TiVo is able to prevail in defending their “time warp” patent versus Dish Network, with court proceedings beginning this week, they should be able to work out royalty arrangements with other DVR providers… in or out of court.

Rocky Mountain News says: The question of who owns the rights to technology that revolutionized the way people watch TV goes to trial this week in a Texas courtroom.

TiVo Inc. alleges that EchoStar Communications Corp., operator of the Dish Network satellite- television service, infringed on a patent central to digital-video recorders, devices that allow viewers to pause live TV and skip commercials.

At stake for Douglas County- based EchoStar are unspecified monetary damages and the risk that it might be forced to modify many of its receivers. That’s if the company is found liable for infringing on TiVo’s “time warp” patent, which allows viewers to record a program while replaying another. For TiVo, which pioneered the DVR technology - only to see satellite and cable companies create their own versions - the case could set a precedent as to whether it can sue other companies that have introduced competing products.

As Michael Buffer once said, “Let’s get ready to rumble!” DirecTV will begin pushing their own DVR next week with no guarantees, though certainly more leverage, of extending their contract with Tivo past 2007. Features of the forthcoming R15 DVR were previously disclosed on TV Predictions.

New York Times says: DIRECTV, the satellite television operator, is introducing a $30 million advertising campaign on Monday to promote its highly anticipated digital video recorder.

The campaign, created by the New York office of BBDO Worldwide, is DirecTV’s first widespread public effort to distance itself from TiVo. Of DirecTV’s 14.7 million customers, 2.3 million now subscribe to TiVo. DirecTV, which pays TiVo a monthly fee of $1.13 per TiVo subscriber, hopes those users will switch to its own service.

DirecTV’s standard DVR, originally set to be released this past June, will be introduced in late October, and another model featuring high-definition service will be introduced in mid-2006. The standard DVR will feature up to 100 hours of recordable space, compared with TiVo’s 70 hours.

DirecTV will continue to support the TiVo service without marketing it, and both services will be priced at $5.99 a month. The company’s current contract with TiVo is set to expire in early 2007. DirecTV has not said if it will continue the contract after that.

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With the proliferation of satellite TV and DVR services, tracking viewing trends has become more difficult and less precise. To collect more comprehensive data Nielsen announced a partnership with Dish Network today, in addition to their preexisting DirecTV/Tivo trial.

Dish says: EchoStar Communications Corporation (NASDAQ: DISH) and its DISH Network satellite TV service today announced that it has signed an agreement with Nielsen Media Research for national TV ratings service. Nielsen, the leading provider of television and audience measurement services, measures the viewing habits of TV homes including DISH Network’s estimated 11.4 million customers. The deal will allow DISH Network to use Nielsen Media Research data for marketing, programming and sales research purposes. DISH Network can use the data from Nielsen to guarantee advertisers a specific number of viewers for their advertisements.