Orby TV was an American

direct broadcast satellite Satellite television is a service that delivers television programming to viewers by relaying it from a communications satellite orbiting the Earth directly to the viewer's location. The signals are received via an outdoor parabolic antenna comm ...

provider based in Burbank,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. Founded in 2019, Orby transmitted digital

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and audio to households within the

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and territories on Pan-American satellite

Eutelsat 117 West A Eutelsat 117 West A, formerly Satmex 8, is a geostationary communications satellite operated by Eutelsat. Previously operated by Satmex, it was launched by a Proton-M/Briz-M rocket in March 2013 to replace Satmex 5, and is being used to provide ...

. The company's primary competitors were Dish Network,

DirecTV DirecTV (trademarked as DIRECTV) is an American multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital satellite service serving the United States. I ...

and

cable television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with bro ...

providers. Orby TV's CEO was Michael Thornton, the former chief executive officer for Starz, as well as former Programming Director at DirecTV. On March 1, 2021, the company shut down and service ended abruptly due to the company running out of operating capital. The company website was updated with a short text page recommending customers switch to DISH Network through a limited-time partnership discount.

History

The company was started in early 2019 by Michael Thornton, a former Starz executive who envisioned a low-cost satellite TV service built around the business model of prepaid mobile phones. In September 2019, the company began offering its hardware for sale coupled with a free over-the-air antenna and pay TV packages starting at $40 a month. Channels available at launch included general entertainment and lifestyle networks from

ViacomCBS Paramount Global (doing business as Paramount) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate owned and operated by National Amusements (79.4%) and headquartered at One Astor Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York. It ...

A+E Networks A&E Networks (stylized as A+E NETWORKS) is an American multinational broadcasting company that is a 50–50 joint venture between Hearst Communications and The Walt Disney Company through its General Entertainment Content division. The company ...

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WarnerMedia Warner Media, LLC ( traded as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City, United States. It was originally established in 1972 by ...

and

Discovery Networks Discovery, Inc. was an American multinational mass media factual television conglomerate based in New York City. Established in 1985, the company operated a group of factual and lifestyle television brands, such as the namesake Discovery Channe ...

, among others. Premium movie networks HBO, Starz,

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and

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were also available for additional fees. To receive service, prospective Orby TV customers first had to pay $100 for an Orby TV-branded satellite TV receiver and separately pay for professional installation of a satellite dish coupled with an over-the-air antenna. The antenna was offered so Orby TV customers could receive free broadcast networks without Orby TV needing to negotiate carriage of those networks separately; Orby TV promised customers the over-the-air antenna would continue to work, even if customers stopped paying for a pay TV package. To keep operating and subscription costs low, Orby TV forged a lease agreement with Eutelsat, which allowed it to rent transponder space without having to launch and maintain its own fleet of satellites. By mid-2020, Thornton said Orby TV was reaching its break-even point, which was later revealed to be around 100,000 subscribers. The company said it would launch support for

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, which would allow customers to watch cable networks in their package on associated streaming apps. In mid-February 2021, a notice on Orby TV's website said the company had stopped activating new customer accounts. A short time later, journalists noticed Orby TV receivers sold at Best Buy were deeply discounted and marked for clearance. A few days later, the website began accepting new customers once again. On March 1, 2021, Orby TV announced via its website that the company was shutting down. Customers with Orby TV dishes and receivers were asked to contact Dish Network for a special promotional offer. It was later revealed Orby TV had run out of cash, and attempts to raise additional funds during the ongoing

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were unsuccessful. Florida-based satellite broadcaster Disitron Satellite Group acquired the rights to the Orby TV intellectual property and its remaining satellite equipment during bankruptcy proceedings in July 2021. The Orby TV website was eventually reactivated to reflect the new ownership of Disitron subsidiary Upcom Technologies, as well as Upcom's intention to relaunch the service with an initial package of faith-based and family-friendly programming. As of August 2022, a relaunch date and package availability had yet to be announced.

Channels

Orby TV offered two packages: Essentials and Extras. Essentials includes 46 specialty channels, 20 of which were in high definition. The Extras package added 24 standard-definition specialty channels to the Essentials package, for a total of 70 channels. Orby TV derived the majority of its programming from the cable divisions of

A&E Networks A&E Networks (stylized as A+E NETWORKS) is an American multinational broadcasting company that is a 50–50 joint venture between Hearst Communications and The Walt Disney Company through its General Entertainment Content division. The company ...

Hallmark Entertainment Halcyon Studios, LLC., formerly known as Sonar Entertainment, RHI Entertainment, Hallmark Entertainment, Qintex Entertainment, HRI Group and Robert Halmi Inc., is an American entertainment company specializing in the production and distribution ...

and

Discovery, Inc. Discovery, Inc. was an American multinational mass media factual television conglomerate based in New York City. Established in 1985, the company operated a group of factual and lifestyle television brands, such as the namesake Discovery Channel ...

The Orby TV satellite dish included a

television antenna A television antenna (TV aerial) is an antenna specifically designed for use with a television receiver (TV) to receive over-the-air broadcast television signals from a television station. Television reception is dependent upon the antenna as ...

to receive local broadcast television stations (such as

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and

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), which allowed Orby TV to limit the amount of retransmission fees it paid to content distributors. The local channels were unavailable via Orby TV satellite service, and availability varied with the included antenna's reception and location.

References

Direct broadcast satellite services Companies based in Burbank, California American companies established in 2019 Mass media companies established in 2019 American companies disestablished in 2021 Mass media companies disestablished in 2021 Re-established companies {{US-tv-stub