EchoStar changes name, spins off Sling Media

Satellite TV provider EchoStar has filed with the SEC to formally split up its business in two: the satellite broadcast service will be called Dish Network, while its set-top box business will be called EchoStar Holding.

EchoStar Holding will include Sling Media, maker of the Slingbox device that can send your home TV signal over the Internet, which was bought by EchoStar in September for $380 million. Although the company has always pledged that Slingbox will continue to deliver TV content from DirecTV and other cable operators, the split will help Sling pitch its hardware to a broader group of customers who were scared away by its connection with Dish.

In related news, the company also this week announced that it would be bidding in the upcoming 700Mhz wireless auction to reportedly offer some sort of a new broadband-enabled satellite TV service.