NDS Claims Win in EchoStar/Dish Hacking Case

Today's cable news roundup starts off with what looks to be the end of a protracted legal spat between NDS Ltd. and EchoStar Corp. LLC (Nasdaq: SATS) and Dish Network LLC (Nasdaq: DISH).

The U.S. Supreme Court has denied a petition from EchoStar and Dish against NDS that sought to overturn an August 2010 ruling that awarded NDS US$18 million and the release of another $4.3 million of NDS funds held in escrow pending the appeals. NDS is seeking another $1.7 million in attorney's fees, costs and interest. In 2003, EchoStar filed a $2 billion claim accusing NDS of hacking Dish's Nagravision SA -based video security system and attempting to undermine a competitor. In 2010, Dish and Nagra inked a ten-year extension to a video security deal that includes a partnership called NagraStar LLC. As a reminder, Dish and EchoStar split and formed two separate, publicly traded companies about four years ago. Dish operates the satellite pay-TV business, while EchoStar develops and sells set-tops and other video technologies. (See EchoStar Ready to Split.)

CableLabs will host a 3DTV interop at its Louisville, Colo., facility from Feb. 13-17 to help set-top box, TV and test equipment vendors evaluate products that are based on the OpenCable 3DTV requirements, or are designed to interoperate with such products. The Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE) , meanwhile, has been eyeing a potential 3DTV standard for the cable industry. (See 3DTV Standards Come Into View .)

Netflix Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX) chief marketing officer and 12-year company vet Leslie Kilgore has stepped down and been appointed non-executive director, a move that follows the company's ill-fated shot at separating its streaming and DVD business and launching a separate service called Qwikster. Netflix has appointed Jessie Becker to interim CMO as the company starts an external search for Kilgore's permanent replacement. (See Netflix Kills Qwikster.)

The city of Springfield, Fla., is negotiating the sale of its 1,000-subscriber cable system to Knology Inc. (Nasdaq: KNOL) following about $3.1 million in upgrades. The city is to receive about 33 percent of the gross revenues Knology receives over a period of eight years before Knology assumes complete control of Springfield Cablevision, according to the News Herald.

— Jeff Baumgartner, Site Editor, Light Reading Cable