BSkyB a quarter of OpenTV revenues

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Open TV has just filed its latest numbers, stating that BSkyB represents 26% of its gross worldwide royalties and income from licences. It also has a potentially worrying Sarbanes-Oxley investigation perhaps to contend with.

Middleware specialist Open TV earned a total of $22.2m in the quarter-year to March 31, up from $17.9m (same period last year). “BSkyB royalties and licenses revenues increased by $1.3m compared to the same period in 2007, primarily as a result of increased deployments by BSkyB of our software products, particularly our personal video recorder, or PVR, software. We typically generate higher royalty rates from set-top boxes that include our PVR software, such as the set-top boxes shipped to BSkyB, and we expect the number of PVR shipments to increase as network operators seek to deploy more PVR functionality in the future,” said OpenTV’s SEC filing.

However, revenues from the Americas, mainly generated by Echostar, fell by $500,000 in the quarter. “EchoStar accounted for $1.6m, or seven per cent, of our total worldwide royalties and licenses revenues for the three months ended March 31, 2008. EchoStar royalties and licenses revenues declined $700,000 as compared to the same period in 2007, primarily due to reduced set-top box shipments to this customer.” Helping fill the gap were increased revenues from Brazil’s NET system, which grew $500,000 in the period.

Australia was another decent market for OpenTV, with revenues from Austar rising $1.2m, helping turn last year’s $3.1m revenues to $5m this year.

OpenTV has had a busy few months, not least in disposing of its Static/Playjam business (other than for a minority shareholding) on Dec 31. This past February OpenTV signed a multi-year contract with its majority owners Kudelski (76.9% voting interest) and its Nagravision conditional access system, “to market and sublicense our middleware products, services and maintenance and support programs to cable, satellite and telecommunications network operators around the world.”

The Sarbanes-Oxley allegations come from its immediate ex-CEO Alan Guggenheim who left OpenTV last August. Initially Guggenheim claimed that OpenTV was “withholding severance and certain other benefits due him under his employment agreement following termination of his employment in August 2007. We responded that we intended to provide Mr. Guggenheim with all pay and benefits due him under the employment agreement. Thereafter, in December 2007, we were notified by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) of the United States Department of Labor that we had been named in an administrative complaint filed by Mr. Guggenheim alleging violations of Section 806 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, 18 U.S.C. § 1514A. In the complaint, Mr. Guggenheim claims that the company terminated him for reporting conduct that he alleged to be illegal or unethical and seeks money damages, fees and costs, reinstatement and any other available relief. We filed a written statement of position with OSHA denying all of Mr. Guggenheim’s allegations. OSHA has not yet determined whether it will conduct an investigation into this matter, and no substantive administrative proceedings have occurred to date. We intend to defend ourselves vigorously in any administrative proceedings and in any subsequent legal proceedings that may be filed by Mr. Guggenheim. We have established a reserve for the severance and other benefits we believe are due to Mr. Guggenheim under the terms of his employment agreement. That reserve is an estimate only and actual costs may be materially different.”

The full results, and further background, can be viewed at: http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=101317&p=irol-SECText&TEXT=aHR0cDovL2NjYm4uMTBrd2l6YXJkLmNvbS94b WwvZmlsaW5nLnhtbD9yZXBvPXRlbmsmaXBhZ2U9NTY0NzMxMiZ hdHRhY2g9T04%3d




Source: Rapid TV News