Echostar chases Americom’s IPTV clients

Last December SES Americom reluctantly announced it would be switching off its pioneering IP-Prime satellite service this summer (expected to take place on July 31 2009). IP-Prime was designed to provide a one-stop-shop for smaller North American telcos to obtain the bulk of their channels from one so-called head-end in the sky. Now Echostar is going after those telcos – and clients.

IP-Prime is being discontinued given its poor take-up, to fewer than 10,000 subscribing homes.

Echostar’s Satellite Services business is directly offering its ‘conversion program’ to telcos, comprising an Echostar ViP-TV transport service, swapped-out satellite receivers and a professional installation. Echostar’s offering could be tempting. It comprises instant access to more than 100 standard-def channels in MPEG-4, and 42 HDTV channels, and Echostar is also offering up at least some ‘local into local’ channels.

Of course, the core subscriber base needs to grow well past 10,000 subs if anyone is to make money out of IPTV, but it cannot be much worse. By piggy-backing its IP-service onto its existing ViP MPEG-4 signals there is little – if any – extra cost to Echostar.