US satellite operator EchoStar is buying “place-shifting” TV device maker Sling Media (see paidContent.org’s extensive coverage here). I caught up with Stuart Collingwood, the VP of Sling Media overseeing EMEA, to ask him about how the acquisition might impact Sling’s business in Europe. Sling has been steadily building up a presence in the UK and the Continent, signing a European-wide deal with mobile operator Three as well distribution deals with pay-TV providers ViaSat in Scandinavia and, earlier this month, UPC in The Netherlands. Recently the ViaSat deal extended also to the operator’s footprint in the Baltic region.
Today, Echostar’s (NSDQ: DISH) presence in Europe is focussed around R&D and infrastructure sales to other operators. These activities form part of the infrastructure and technology group that Echostar today said it is considering spinning off; and this division may well also become the home for Sling in Echostar’s portfolio. Collingwood would not comment on Echostar’s strategy in Europe, but he has confirmed Sling plans to continue its expansion here: “We are engaged in a lot of discussions in Europe both with operators and retail partners. We want to get more oomph behind our retail presence and our access.”
— On Three: Sling and Three are not giving out any details on how many Sling mobile players have been downloaded “We have approximately 1500 X-Series Gold customers who can access Sling over the air to control their home TV from their phone,” a Three spokesperson has told me. The two companies do not detail how much it is used, or how usage of Sling-based viewing compares with other mobile video products three is pushing over its X-Series platform. Collingwood claims the relationship is “going great”. He also hinted at some of the challenges, though: “Not only is Three launching a new broadband proposition, trying to get people to use unlimited data, but we’re trying to get out there to educate the customers about Sling, too. We’re seeing a nice, steady progression into the market.”
— Other mobile business: Collingwood says there are further deals with European mobile operators in the pipeline but nothing to announce yet. He notes that there’s also been interest in SlingPlayer for mobile downloaded direct from its site. He anticipates a pick-up in European usage when the Symbian version of the mobile software becomes more widely available — currently you can only download via Sling the Windows Mobile version, which Collingwood calls a “niche platform” in Europe; while the Symbian version is currently only available through three.
— Pay-TV business in Europe: Currently Sling distributes the Slingbox with satellite and cable operators rather than integrating Sling technology straight into set-top boxes. Collingwood: “Integration is one of the things that we
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