Skip to main content

DirecTV to Offer Consumer-Centric Features

Business Week reports that News Corp. owns 76 percent of NDS, the onetime Israeli company that comes up with tech wizardry like "smart codes," which are programmed with complex algorithms that keep TV beamed from Murdoch's global fleet of satellites from getting into the hands of pirates.

Now the NDS brainiacs are cooking up a jam-packed set-top box for News Corp.'s U.S. satellite service, DirecTV. The pay-TV boxes will let viewers assemble their own shows from snippets of different programs, change camera angles for sports events, even stream some Internet programs from the Web onto their TVs. "Rupert sees technology as a weapon," says NDS CEO Abe Peled, a former Israeli platoon commander and top IBM scientist.

Satellite can't yet compete in data and phone, given its one-way service from the skies downward. But NDS is providing plenty of bells and whistles, including a service that boosted DirecTV subscriber counts by offering several games simultaneously on the screen during March Madness.

Its "hybrid" DVR will use DSL to offer Internet on the TV screen. And in a lab in Costa Mesa, California, researchers are readying other services: a feature that lets viewers record programs by simply clicking on the network TV promo and another that streams content from News Corp.'s newly acquired IGN Internet game site. Further down the road is a wireless Net technology that will enable video-on-demand for mobile devices.

Since taking control of DirecTV in 2003, Murdoch's mission has been to lure subscribers from cable by slashing prices, giving away set-top boxes, and paying big for ads. Now comes the second wave: a technology offensive. During a recent stroll through NDS's Costa Mesa facility, the 75-year-old proudly reviewed his arsenal. "We expect NDS to build up new offerings and to improve DirecTV's market share," he said with a crocodile grin. Translation: The war for viewers is about to escalate.

Popular posts from this blog

Why 2025 Will Redefine Mobile Connectivity

As international travel rebounds to pre-pandemic levels in 2025, the mobile communication roaming market is at an inflection point. Emerging technologies and changing customer preferences are challenging traditional wholesale roaming agreements between mobile network operators (MNOs). The global wholesale roaming market is projected to more than double, from $9 billion in 2024 to $20 billion by 2028. This surge will be fueled by the expanding deployment of 5G Standalone (SA) technology, which enables real-time roaming connections and activity monitoring. But beneath this headline figure lies a complex landscape of regional variations and technological mobile service disruptions. Global Mobile Roaming Market Development Western Europe dominates inbound roaming connections, largely thanks to its Roam Like at Home (RLAH) initiative, which eliminates roaming charges among member countries.  Meanwhile, the Indian Subcontinent is emerging as a growth hotspot. Between 2024 and 2029, inbou...