DirecTV in the News

DIRECTV  Launches Its Fourth Hughes-Built Satellite

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (BUSINESS WIRE) Oct. 9, 1999 - DIRECTV 1-R, the fourth direct-broadcast satellite built for DIRECTV by Hughes Space and Communications Company (HSC), was launched successfully Saturday night, becoming the first commercial satellite to be launched from the ocean-based Sea Launch platform. DIRECTV and HSC are units of Hughes Electronics Corporation.

DIRECTV 1-R will provide the nation's leading digital television service provider with in-orbit redundancy and the additional Ku-band capacity to deliver local broadcast network channels to approximately 50 million homes, or about half of the nation's television households.

"The development and successful launch of DIRECTV 1-R shows the enormous power of teamwork among Hughes companies," said Michael T. Smith, chairman and chief executive officer of Hughes Electronics. "We took advantage of our technological and manufacturing strength to launch the DIRECTV business two years ahead of our competition. Now, with this new high-power HSC satellite in place, DIRECTV is ready to better compete with cable and deliver local broadcast stations into local markets as soon as pending legislation is passed by Congress."

"Once in operation at 101 degrees West longitude (WL), DIRECTV's main orbital slot, DIRECTV 1-R will strengthen our in-orbit redundancy and enable DIRECTV customers in up to 20 of the nation's key television markets to receive their local broadcast channels as well as the current lineup of digital DIRECTV entertainment and information programming through their existing set-top box and 18-inch antenna," Hartenstein said.

"The ability to provide these new services to our subscribers, with no additional investment in equipment on their part, will further strengthen our leadership position in the multichannel digital television market," Hartenstein added. "DIRECTV today leads the industry in offering the widest selection of programming to consumers nationwide."

DIRECTV 1-R is an HS 601HP model, with 16 high-power Ku-band transponders. It will deliver 30 percent more capacity than DBS-1, an HS 601 spacecraft that currently serves DIRECTV subscribers from 101 degrees WL, but that will move to 110 degrees WL to serve as back-up capacity.

DIRECTV-1R lifted off aboard the Sea Launch Zenit rocket at 8:28 p.m. PDT Saturday from the middle of the Pacific Ocean. After about 62 minutes, the rocket left the spacecraft in a geosynchronous transfer orbit with a high point of 22,300 miles (36,000 km) above the equator. Controllers at a ground station in South Africa made contact with the satellite at separation and confirmed that all systems are functioning properly.

Over the next 30 days, HSC controllers will maneuver the spacecraft into a circular orbit; deploy the antennas, solar arrays and radiator panels; and test the operational functions, communications payload and propulsion system. DIRECTV expects to begin offering services from DIRECTV 1-R by December of this year.

DIRECTV Announces Record September Customer Growth

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (BUSINESS WIRE) Oct. 7, 1999 - DIRECTV Inc., a unit of Hughes Electronics Corp., Thursday announced its high-power DIRECTV® digital satellite television service acquired 160,000 net new customers in September.

DIRECTV's September additions represent a record for that month and a 32 percent increase in net customer acquisitions over September 1998. An additional 77,000 customers were transitioned to DIRECTV from medium-power PRIMESTAR By DIRECTV last month.

Through the first nine months of 1999, DIRECTV acquired 1,091,000 net new high-power customers, a 44 percent increase over the same year-ago period. DIRECTV now has more than 7.6 million customers, including customers subscribing to the medium-power PRIMESTAR By DIRECTV service.

DIRECTV continued to aggressively transition PRIMESTAR By DIRECTV customers to high-power service in September. The 77,000 customers transitioned to high-power service in September -- which are not included in the 160,000 net new customers acquired by DIRECTV last month -- brings the total number of conversions to more than 229,000.

Fox Allows DirecTV To Carry Signals

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Fox Entertainment Group agreed to allow DirecTV Inc. to carry the signals of 22 Fox stations in major metropolitan media markets.

The agreement announced Wednesday marks a key success for DirecTV, which has been in a fierce battle with cable television providers for access to programming from local stations.

The pact with Fox hinges on congressional approval of a bill that would make satellite transmission of local signals legal. Under exiting law, transmission of local and national programming from local stations has been limited to cable and open broadcasting systems. If Congress changes the law, DirecTV will begin carrying Fox signals during the fourth quarter.

Live Television to be Available to Airline Passengers via DirecTV

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 28, 1999-- DIRECTV Inc. announced today that DIRECTV AIRBORNE(TM) programming, its new, live satellite entertainment service for commercial airlines, will make its in-flight debut this fall.

For the first time in the commercial airline industry, airline passengers will have the opportunity to privately view live television programming on flat screens installed in each seat back.

DIRECTV AIRBORNE programming will debut on select aircraft from Alaska Airlines and two new airlines, Legend Airlines and JetBlue Airways. The announcements were made today at the World Airline Entertainment Association trade show in Salt Lake City.

DIRECTV plans to offer up to 24 channels on the new in-flight programming service, including four ESPN networks: ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNEWS and ESPN Classic, Bloomberg Television, Discovery Channel, Travel Channel, The Learning Channel, The Weather Channel, CNNfn, ZDTV and Animal Planet. Passengers will make network selections by pressing a button at their seat.

The DIRECTV AIRBORNE service will be viewed on in-flight entertainment equipment supplied by LiveTV. The low-profile LiveTV antenna, located in the top center of the aircraft's fuselage, maintains constant communication with the three DIRECTV satellites located at the 101 degree West Longitude orbital slot by use of two autonomous tracking systems.

LiveTV is a joint venture between Harris Corp., a leader in satellite communications systems, and Sextant In-Flight Systems.

"We're taking in-flight entertainment to a new level," said Terry Ferguson, vice president, Business Development and Strategic Planning for DIRECTV Inc. "By offering their passengers an exciting variety of entertainment programming, including the highly popular ESPN networks, these airlines will establish a unique presence in the marketplace."

Sports fans who fly will have an opportunity to view their favorite televised sporting events and keep up with the latest scores from SportsCenter, ESPNEWS and ESPN2 Bottomline. ESPN's NFL Sunday Night Football will be available to passengers flying on Sunday nights during football season.

The DIRECTV AIRBORNE service will offer a variety of news and information channels such as Bloomberg Television, which provides 24-hour coverage of worldwide business and financial news, and Discovery Channel, which features news and information documentaries from the worlds of science, nature, medicine and outdoor adventure.

DIRECTV also provides entertainment programming to private jets through its DIRECTV AIRBORNE OFFICE CHOICE(TM) package that includes more than 55 popular networks, premium movie and sports subscription services.

Satellite Leaders Address Wall Street and Discuss Industry Growth At Fall SkyFORUM

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 17, 1999 - Strong, sustained satellite TV subscriber growth, along with the advancing digital technologies in multichannel video have combined to make Direct-to-Home (DTH) one of the best investments on Wall Street, industry leaders and analysts said at the semi-annual satellite/financial SkyFORUM symposium.

"DBS net new subscriber counts have set records every quarter for the past four quarters,'' said Chuck Hewitt, president, SBCA. "With an 87% overall consumer approval rating that continues to increase each year, it's not surprising that Wall Street continues to view satellite as an excellent investment opportunity.''

Evie Haskell, Media Business Corp, opened SkyFORUM with SkyTRENDS research offering evidence of the growth in the satellite industry. New subscriber number peaks have reached beyond traditional holiday shopping months and are growing year round, she said, with new subscribers totaling more than 600,000 in each the first and second quarters of 1999.

In addition, consumer equipment costs have plummeted from $2,000 in 1994 to under $200 today, redirecting consumers' dollars to programming. Programming purchases have increased from about $25 to over $43 per month, with mini-satellite dish TV now in more than one in 10 TV households.

The satellite TV industry is poised for even greater growth when legislation currently pending before Congress is passed. The new law will define guidelines for the delivery of local stations into local markets via satellite.

DIRECTV Customers in Up to 20 Markets to Receive Local Channels With Existing 18-Inch Satellite Dish and Receiver

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 16, 1999-- DIRECTV Inc., provider of the nation's leading digital satellite television service, Thursday announced its readiness to deliver local broadcast network channels to up to 20 markets from its satellites at 101 degrees West Longitude (WL), DIRECTV's primary orbital slot.

Satellite delivery of local broadcast stations into their local markets requires the passage of legislation currently pending before Congress.

DIRECTV® customers in up to 20 of the nation's key television markets will be able to receive the new service as well as DIRECTV's current lineup of digital entertainment and information programming through their existing set-top box and 18-inch antenna.

DIRECTV also plans to deliver local broadcast network channels to additional metropolitan markets from satellites at 110 and 119 degrees WL. In total, DIRECTV's initial plans call for the delivery of local channels by satellite to approximately 50 million homes, or about half of the nation's television households.

"By shifting our strategy to deliver local channels to up to 20 markets from satellites at our core orbital slot, we are making it much easier for the majority of our existing customers to receive those channels,'' said Eddy W. Hartenstein, president of DIRECTV. "All they will have to do to begin receiving their local channels from DIRECTV is call and order -- no new hardware is required."

Thursday's announcement updates DIRECTV's earlier announced plan to deliver local channels from 101 degrees WL only to its customers in New York and Los Angeles. Other major metropolitan markets would have been served with local channels from satellites at the 119 degree WL orbital slot. Now, however, DIRECTV will deliver local-into-local services to its 20 major markets from its satellites at 101 degrees WL.

Upon the successful launch next month of the DIRECTV 1-R satellite into the 101 degree WL orbital slot, and by investing in technology upgrades at its two broadcast centers, DIRECTV will have the additional capacity to extend the delivery of local broadcast network channels from that location.

Local-into-local services delivered from the 110 and 119 degree WL orbital slots will be received via a single small satellite dish, which integrates the existing lineup of popular networks, premium movie services, pay-per-view selections and sports programming subscriptions from 101 degrees WL.

In addition to local broadcast network channels, DIRECTV will also deliver high-definition programming and a suite of interactive services from 110 and 119 degrees WL, as well as DIRECTV PARA TODOS(TM), its new Spanish-language programming service.

"With our new 101 degree local channel strategy, the enactment of pro-consumer legislation is the only impediment to our ability to begin delivering this critical segment of programming to millions of current and future DIRECTV customers," said Hartenstein.

In July, DIRECTV and the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) reached a formal agreement to support a comprehensive proposal with respect to the reauthorization of the Satellite Home Viewer Act (SHVA). The DIRECTV-NAB agreement, which has been endorsed by the Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association (CEMA), is designed to facilitate the work of the Conference Committee in reconciling separate House and Senate bills that reauthorize the SHVA.

"With Congress back in session, we urge the Conference Committee to move swiftly to adopt a Conference Report incorporating the DIRECTV-NAB recommendations and send this much-needed legislation to President Clinton for signature," said Hartenstein.

Combined DTV/DIRECTV Converters for Analog TVs To Debut In 2000

AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 13, 1999-- By the end of next year consumers will be able to buy an affordable set-top box that allows them to receive digital television (DTV) from both terrestrial TV stations and DIRECTV(r) satellite broadcasts on their analog TVs, Sarnoff Corporation announced today.

Sarnoff, the Princeton, N.J.-based TV pioneer, announced today that it is creating a reference design for integrated broadcast/satellite set-top converter boxes under an agreement with El Segundo, Calif.-based DIRECTV. The design is based on the Motorola MCT family of integrated circuits, jointly developed by Motorola and Sarnoff. The announcement was made at Motorola's Horizons briefing session for the electronics industry in Austin, Texas.

Using the Sarnoff design, TV manufacturers will be able to offer consumers lower-cost alternatives to pricey new DTV sets. The converter boxes will receive broadcasts on indoor or outdoor TV antennas and DIRECTV satellite mini-dishes and display them with digital clarity on standard TVs.

Sarnoff expects the set-top boxes to debut at less than $500, with prices dropping to under $400 as production increases. By contrast, current digital receivers and displays cost from $4,500 to $10,000 or more.

DIRECTV Announces Record August Customer Growth

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 8, 1999--DIRECTV Inc., a unit of Hughes Electronics Corp., Wednesday announced its high-power DIRECTV® digital satellite television service acquired 141,000 net new customers in August.

DIRECTV's August additions represent a record for that month and a 40 percent increase in net customer acquisitions over August 1998. These numbers do not include customers transitioned from PRIMESTAR By DIRECTV last month.

Through the first eight months of 1999, DIRECTV has acquired 932,000 net new high-power customers, a 47 percent increase over the same year-ago period. DIRECTV now has more than 7.5 million customers, including customers subscribing to the medium-power PRIMESTAR By DIRECTV service.

DIRECTV continues to aggressively accelerate the transition of PRIMESTAR By DIRECTV customers to its high-power service. In addition to the 141,000 new high-power customers acquired last month, 75,000 PRIMESTAR By DIRECTV customers were transitioned to DIRECTV in August. DIRECTV transitioned more PRIMESTAR By DIRECTV customers to its high-power service in August than in June and July combined, the first two full months of the transition process. Through the end of August, 152,000 PRIMESTAR By DIRECTV customers had been transitioned to DIRECTV.

Hughes Electronics is Doing Well

NEW YORK, Sept 8, 1999 (Reuters) - J.P. Morgan said Wednesday that analyst Marc Corssman started Hughes Electronics Corp., a subsidiary of General Motors Corp., with a buy rating.

"We are initiating coverage of Hughes with a buy rating and a year-end 2000 price target of $71 per share, based on our sum-of-the-parts analysis. We believe that Hughes Electronics will have a breakout year in 2000."

"Our 2000 EBITDA forecast of $1.12 billion is more than double our 1999 estimate of $489 million. Hughes's significant cash flow generating potential is the direct result of its five-year transformation into a media/communications company from an aerospace/defense company."

"More than half of the stock's value is tied to DIRECTV, which, we believe, is on the verge of realizing the cumulative benefits of top-line growth and operating leverage. As a result, we believe that Hughes will regain its momentum in September and October 1999.''