31.   The screen was black, except for a note advising me to call Direct TV, my satellite provider.

32.   The spinoffs will leave Tele-Communications, burdened with high debt and losses, with cable operations that are under pressure from satellite TV providers.

33.   There is no industry standard technology, nor is there any distribution agreement between cable TV and direct-to-home satellite providers.

34.   There are two major satellite providers.

35.   To counter the threat from satellite service providers DirecTV and EchoStar, Time Warner Cable and Comcast both have started rolling out digital cable systems.

36.   Vogel comes to Star Choice after three years as president of Englewood, Colorado-based Echostar Communications Corp., a leading satellite television provider in the U.S.

37.   Yankee manager Joe Torre said he had previously ordered DirecTV, a satellite provider currently carrying the YES network.

38.   Yet, while it has sparked interest among some satellite providers, it has not yet reached a deal.

39.   A group of investors led by billionaire Craig McCaw agreed to help bail out Iridium LLC, the financially ailing satellite telecommunications provider.

40.   Braverman declined to comment on which satellite providers could be involved.