DirecTV in the News

Sting Concert Performance to be Broadcast Free of Charge and Exclusively on DIRECTV

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--Feb. 23, 2000-- Continuing its pledge to bring its more than 8.1 million customers special programming events free of charge, next month DIRECTV, the nation's leading digital TV service, will premiere Sting in concert, as he appeared at The Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles last October.

DIRECTV will roll out this Sting concert as part of its DIRECTV® FREEVIEW® event series to its high-power customers on Friday, March 3 and to its PRIMESTAR By DIRECTV customers on Saturday, March 11.

"DIRECTV is committed to offering the most compelling music programming to our customers. This exclusive concert presentation of an artist of Sting's magnitude and timeless appeal exemplifies this commitment,'' said Susan Collins, senior vice president, Marketing. "Our customers have shown us tremendous support during the past year and our DIRECTV® FREEVIEW® event series is our way of thanking them and letting them know how much we appreciate their loyalty.''

With customary thoughtfulness and his usual verve, Sting's latest platinum and Grammy-nominated album (Best Pop Album, Best Male Vocal Performance) ``Brand New Day'' is a collection of songs exploring the theme of love. Incorporating highly rhythmic elements, echoes of Miles Davis and Algerian pop and American country music, ``Brand New Day'' also ranges, with typical Sting audacity, over a world of styles.

Not content to rest on the laurels of his past accomplishments, Sting now moves relentlessly forward. Of ``Brand New Day'' and his current outlook he says, ``I feel the millennium is very much a part of this record and as my strategy in life is to be optimistic, in art I want to be the same.''

Premiering on Friday, March 3 at 9 p.m. (ET), the Sting concert will air on DIRECTV channel 103, every Friday, Saturday and Sunday throughout the month of March. The Sting concert will air on PRIMESTAR By DIRECTV on Saturday, March 11 at 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET on channel 136 and repeat on Friday, March 17 at 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET. DIRECTV customers who tune in to the concert can expect to see Sting perform hits from his illustrious career.

DIRECTV began airing its DIRECTV® FREEVIEW® event series last November with a concert from progressive rock group YES. In December and January customers received such diverse events as Mannheim Steamroller's Christmas Spectacular, the animated Hallmark Entertainment® presentation ``Maxine's Christmas Carol,'' ``The Glory of Christmas,'' a concert from Blondie and the ``Countdown to the Millennium Live from Walt Disney World'' concert that featured a host of popular musical artists from the `70s and `80s including Cheap Trick, 38 Special, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Styx.