ArrowStar

ArrowStar, LLC is an American holding company that operates multichannel video programming distributors, streaming services, mobile services and retail stores, based in within the. It was formed in 1991 by a joint-venture of (NTT),  (SES) and, who were collectively referred to as ArrowStar Partners L.P. by the company. Its primary service is a digital satellite service serving the United States, Canada, Latin America and Aritonazca, which also provides customers with an over-the-air antenna to receive broadcast television stations. It also provides traditional linear television service delivered by IP through its Virgin Fiber brand and a Virtual MVPD service through its ArrowStar Stream brand. Additionally, ArrowStar offers mobile wireless service through ArrowStar Wireless. On February 2, 2020, ArrowStar acquired Virgin Fiber and the rights to use the Virgin Mobile name in the US from as part of the lead-up to the Sprint and T-Mobile merger. ArrowStar intends to provide postpaid wireless services as well in the future. ArrowStar also owns the entertainment retail store chains Rent-a-Video Warehouse, Movie Library, GameOn and 7th Street Comics, they are organized under the ArrowStar Retail, LLC division, which is based in

Founding and early growth
On January 10, 1991,, the , and announced a joint-venture, at first named SES/NTT/Bell Satellite Venture L.P., with intentions of launching a satellite-based pay television service. The venture spent 3 years raising $1.92 million to build and launch two satellites, SES Arrow 1 and SES Arrow 2, into orbit from the in. The first confirmed transmission of signals from SES Arrow 1 and 2 to an ArrowStar receiver was on November 1, 1994 at Bell Atlantic's headquarters,, in.

In January 1995, the service's name was declared to be ArrowStar. The initial test of ArrowStar's service was in, , , and , with the first ArrowStar Kit (consisting of a receiver, dish and over-the-air antenna) being sold at a  authorized dealer in  on June 12, 1995, expanding to the rest of the  on August 1, 1995.

Continued growth and expansion
In 1998, ArrowStar's headquarters were relocated from New York City to the inner suburb of. ArrowStar vacated it's old broadcast center in and relocated those operations into the ArrowStar Control Center (a converted former ) in the Dallas suburb of. ArrowStar's original broadcast center was razed shortly after the company moved out of the building (part of the industrial park currently occupies the site). ArrowStar kept it's New York City-area call centers in and.

WorldCom buyout, effects of the WorldCom accounting scandal and becoming a standalone entity
On May 19, 2001, the ArrowStar Partners sold ArrowStar to for US$54.3 million. Just over a year later, on July 21, 2002, WorldCom filed for bankruptcy in the midst of an accounting scandal.

On January 7, 2006, shortly after purchasing MCI, spun-off ArrowStar into a separate entity, ArrowStar, LLC, to focus on its fledgling  service. Scott Manheim, the longtime president of the company, was the majority owner of ArrowStar, LLC until 2010, when the company performed its IPO on the Stock Market.

Acquisitions and expansion as a standalone entity
In 2011, ArrowStar acquired Rent-a-Video Warehouse Corporation, the parent company of Rent-a-Video Warehouse, Movie Library, GameOn and 7th Street Comics.