USSB boasts subscriber revenue gains in quarter
Satcaster sees subscribers grow to 1.9 mil
The St. Paul, Minn.-based provider of premium movie channels also reported that its base of net paying subscribers grew by 87,000 in the quarter to total 1.9 million.
Each subscriber spends an average of $23.53 for USSB programming that's fed through an 18-inch digital satellite system.
Sale plans
The financial and subscriber gains are significant in light of last week's announcement by News Corp. and MCI to abandon plans to sell their high-powered direct broadcast satellite service to DBS competitor Primestar Partners.
Primestar, a medium-powered satellite business owned by a consortium of cablers, had been counting on the power upgrade promised by the deal to penetrate the urban and suburban markets that some observers regard as key to its survival.
The USSB digital satellite system is a high-powered system that allows consumers to get programming from both USSB and DirecTV. Also, by using a re-mote control, a USSB/DirecTV subscriber can retrieve programming from local television stations as well.
USSB president and CEO Stanley E. Hubbard said several new marketing initiatives were in place "to help retailers overcome the No. 1 barrier to even faster growth -- the misperception that local stations can only be received by cable."
In related news, USSB reported that the quarter had a positive cash flow (or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) and that churning among its subscribers had been significantly curtailed.
USSB stock gained 11.1% Thursday to close at $6.25.
