Douglas County-based EchoStar Communications Corp., the second-largest U.S. satellite-TV company, said Wednesday it has invested $40 million in TU Media Corp., a South Korean satellite broadcaster, to speed the adoption of video on mobile devices.
TU Media provides mobile television service to more than 1 million customers. According to a statement, EchoStar said it is TU Media’s second-biggest shareholder after SK Telecom Co., a South Korean mobile- phone company.
EchoStar operates the Dish Network, which has more than 13 million subscribers in the U.S. It also is a leading provider of international TV programming, offering a package of six Korean-language channels.
The TU Media investment reflects EchoStar’s efforts to develop mobile video and expand beyond the U.S. market, said Morgan Stanley analyst Benjamin Swinburne. EchoStar offers upgraded digital services such as high-definition TV and digital recorders in the U.S. to compete with the larger DirecTV Group Inc., which has 15.3 million subscribers.
EchoStar “has been looking for overseas investment opportunities,” Swinburne wrote in a note to investors Wednesday. The New York-based analyst, who rates EchoStar shares “overweight,” said a $34 million investment in an unnamed company, disclosed last year, probably went into development of satellite services in China.
Swinburne said the investments may lead to new mobile-video business for Echo Star in China and South Korea.
EchoStar and its chairman Charlie Ergen have an interest in other satellite technologies and in mobile content, as the company is also an investor in Greenwood Village-based Wildblue Communications, a provider of high-speed Internet services by satellite.
“The investment is not out of place,” said Jimmy Schaeffler, senior multichannel TV analyst for the Carmel Group. “I think it’s a combination of continuing to look at different technologies and new locations. South Korea is a leader in wireless and Internet technology.”
Denver Post staff writer Kimberly S. Johnson contributed to this report.
