New Satellite TV Service From Bell Atlantic

Electronic News, Sept 21, 1998

reston, va. -- In a countermove to the AT&T/TCI deal, last Monday Bell Atlantic launched a satellite TV service for single family homes in two U.S. regions.

"Today's homeowners in Washington, D.C. and across New Jersey have a genuine alternative to their cable company," said Dick Beville, president of Bell Atlantic Video. "Bell Atlantic...has combined the best in television service with free over-the-air local channels, resulting in a superior television service."

Digital programming from DirecTV and the U.S. Satellite Broadcasting (USSB) will be marketed by Bell Atlantic. Analysts expect the move to set off a flurry of other, similar partnerships.

"It's not a surprise -- they were all going to be doing this after the Telecoms Deregulation Act of 1996," said Ellen Carney, an analyst with Dataquest. "It seemed like a great way to expand offering to clients, but it didn't pan out."

A few years ago, in 1995 and 1996, several cable companies, among them Time Warner, forged alliances with telecommunications providers. Most partnerships died a natural death, out of neglect or pure floundering in the marketplace. The last to go down was AT&T's deal with DirecTV. Several months ago the company pulled the plug on its marketing service, because the few sales generated didn't justify time allocated by its agents to push it. DirecTV didn't take long to find another front man.

Over 5 million households in those two areas will have access to Bell Atlantic's service. It features more than 200 channels of programming, and local broadcast channels. The company's $199 package includes installations of an 18-inch satellite dish, a set-top receiver, and an off-air antenna, for analog TV and the digital reception of local channels. The company plans to increase service to Northeast markets early next year.

The move could be a ploy to increase its net worth in the face of GTE's pending acquisition of Bell Atlantic, if it does, indeed, become another service provider. "It's also a good way to test the market before making an acquisition," said Ms. Carney.

The alliance also signals a move towards the consolidation of all data services which, in the not-so-distant-future, could be delivered from one telco provider.