We are pleased to have received $104,600,472 from EchoStar on October 8, 2008...

I bet you are, TiVo. I bet you are. But I bet you're even more pleased because there's still pending judicial action, and you want even more cash. Honk honk. [Thanks Dave Zatz!]

So Echostar has decided that it will in fact be handing TiVo a check for $104 million plus interest, though TiVo is looking for further damages apparently, due to "EchoStar’s continued infringement of our Time Warp patent." More importantly, their victory here opens the door for TiVo to start hunting down everyone else selling a DVR, so the real ugly might still be on the way. [Zatz Not Funny]

He says that he was just hired to write pirate programs to make DirecTV's own network more secure, but one of his projects for News Corp., the "stinger," can talk to any smart card in the world. Another hacker claims that he bragged about using the stinger with News Corps.'s people to reprogram a bunch of Dish's cards, but Tarnovsky claims he's being set up to take the fall.

Dish says the hack attack has cost them over $900 million. Either way, this whole thing is some serious material for a TNT movie of the week. [Reuters via Valleywag]

After battling through a gauntlet of appeals and patent re-certifications, earlier today, a US Appeals Court denied Echostar's appeal to overturn an earlier verdict that it infringed on Tivo's patent with its own DVR setup. The ruling gives Tivo ammo to go after pretty much everyone hawking their own DVR, so things could get kind of interesting, in a protracted legal slugfest kind of way. 'Course going around and suing and everyone would probably put a damper on their plans to expand by licensing (think Tivo on Comcast, but bigger). [Thomas Hawk via CNET]

The company believes that it will free up the Slingbox hardware to a broader range of customers—maybe even through cable companies and other DBS providers. For the record, Sling Media has always maintained that they would not manufacture products for use by a single company—a promise that was illustrated earlier this year with a device that appears to incorporate a built-in cable modem. [SEC via GIgaOM via Electronista]

TiVo Statement on the United States Patent and Trademark Office Decision

ALVISO, CA —NOVEMBER 29th— TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO), the creator of and leader in television products and services for digital video recorders (DVR), offered the following statement today on the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) decision with respect to the reexamination of TiVo's Multimedia Timewarping System patent, U.S. patent number 6,233,389 (the "Time Warp Patent"):

"We are extremely pleased that the PTO has now found all claims of the Time Warp Patent to be valid after conducting a reexamination of the patent requested by EchoStar. This decision by the PTO is final and not appealable by EchoStar. Today's decision by the PTO brings us another step closer to ending EchoStar's continued infringement and we are hopeful that the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit will uphold the district court judgment of patent infringement and reinstate the injunction."

EchoStar Announces Agreement to Acquire Sling Media, Inc.

Combination Will Create Industry-Leading Digital Media Solutions Provider

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. and FOSTER CITY, Calif., September 24, 2007 -
EchoStar Communications Corporation (NASDAQ: DISH) announced today
that it has agreed to acquire Sling Media, Inc., a privately-held
digital lifestyle products company. EchoStar, through its DISH
Network(r), is the third largest pay-TV provider in the United States.
The transaction values Sling Media at approximately $380 million and
is payable in cash and EchoStar options. The transaction is subject to
customary closing conditions, and is expected to close in the fourth
quarter of 2007.

Established in 2004, Sling Media has been a leading innovator in the
digital lifestyle space through the introduction of the
internationally-acclaimed, Emmy award-winning Slingbox and
SlingPlayer software. Sling Media's product line is distributed in
over 5,000 retail stores in 11 countries.

In 2006, Sling Media created the Sling Entertainment Group with the
mission of developing entertainment experiences and business models
that reach beyond the Slingbox. The group also fosters and manages
relationships with content creators and owners. Its first initiative,
Clip+Sling , dramatically changes the way consumers socialize around
TV by enabling users to clip and share limited segments of their
favorite television programming.

"As an early investor in Sling Media, EchoStar has been pleased with
the progress and commitment the company has made establishing Sling
Media and the Slingbox as powerful and beloved digital media brands,"
said Charlie Ergen, CEO and co-founder of EchoStar. "With today's
increasingly mobile lifestyle, EchoStar's acquisition of Sling Media
will allow us to offer innovative and convenient ways for our
customers to enjoy their programming on more displays and locations,
including TVs, computers and mobile phones, both inside and outside of
the home. This combination paves the way for the development of a host
of new innovative products and services for our subscribers, new
digital media consumers and strategic partners."

"We are psyched to make this announcement. We have worked closely with
EchoStar for more than two years, and have come to realize that both
companies have similar entrepreneurial cultures and mutual dedication
and passion for creating empowering experiences that benefit the
consumer and the media industry," said Blake Krikorian, co-founder,
chairman and CEO of Sling Media. "By combining strategies, resources
and technologies with EchoStar, Sling Media will be able to rapidly
expand our open multi-platform product offerings, not only for DISH
Network subscribers, but for digital media enthusiasts around the
globe."

With its WiMAX service, Clearwire targets two markets: those who are out of the reach of wired broadband service and those who are looking for an alternative to cable and DSL providers. The bundled service is inteded to make its offering more attractive to the latter group.

Seems like a meshing of two separate interests combining for their mutual benefit. Kind of like how Slowpoke and Shellder combine to form Slowbro, which helps both of them. Holy shit, did I just compare satellite TV and WiMAX to Pokemon? – Jason Chen

Satellite TV guys say: why not WiMAX [Ars Technica]

Image credit Sci Fi and Matt Krueger

This box is currently only available in standard definition with high-definition units coming in the future. It will run an addition $10 to your existing DISH fees and is currently available to residents in Ohio and San Antonio. Image via Zatz – Travis Hudson

AT&T launches box with Web, satellite [Via Zatz]

EchoStar, DirecTV to Offer Broadband [Digital Trends]

It's a good thing for that other satellite TV provider, DirecTV, that it cut a deal with TiVo the other day, where DirecTV extended the TiVo contract in exchange for patent protection. Other DVR purveyors might need that kind of waiver, too, since TiVo's patent is quite broad, basically stating that it enables viewers to digitally record a TV show while watching another. This could mean that TiVo could collect licensing fees for any DVR, driving up costs to the consumer. Either that, or we could all just get TiVos. Yeah. Big victory for TiVo.

TiVo Scores a Significant Patent Win. Higher DVR Prices? [eHomeUpgrade]

TiVo victorious in major DVR patent suit [ars technica]

Looking for HD content? Echostar and Dish Network are coming to the rescue with more than 1700 hours per week of the stuff. Claiming that its new high-definition television package offers the most HD channels in the pay-TV industry, this year we'll see five new original VOOM channels and other new networks including ESPN2 HD and Universal HD. Right now, the network has 25 national HD channels, giving you about 200 hours of HD programming every day. Look for the new lineup as well as MPEG-4 transmissions on February 1.