U.S. Digital Television, Inc. (USDTV) has announced that it has surpassed 10,000 subscribers. Since its launch in March 2004, the company has introduced its low-priced alternative to cable in Salt Lake City, Albuquerque and Las Vegas, with plans for additional market rollouts this year. ""There has been exceptional consumer response to our unique new service,"" said Steve Lindsley, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of U.S. Digital Television, Inc. ""Our growing base of subscribers demonstrates that the model works and that there is a strong and viable new business for broadcasters in the pay TV industry."" The Company said that more than half of its customers are those that subscribe to neither cable or satellite, but continue to utilize regular VHF/UHF antennas for their television service. Its research indicates subscribers are attracted to the high-quality content, DVD/HD picture and low-cost that the service provides. In an independent customer satisfaction survey conducted by Ridder/Braden, USDTV scored higher than cable and satellite for overall satisfaction. In addition, more than 80 percent of USDTV subscribers said that they would recommend the service to family and friends. ""While this service is important to consumers, it also creates a new recurring revenue stream for broadcasters,"" said Mr. Lindsley. ""Every new subscriber helps build the broadcasters? digital audience. We are pleased with the way consumers are responding to USDTV and believe that our growth will accelerate as we move into a number of new markets over the next several months."" USDTV has created a new category in the pay-TV industry by offering the first digital terrestrial TV service in the U.S. The cable networks carried by USDTV are broadcast over-the-air and subscribers receive the service through a standard VHF/UHF antenna. In addition to the cable networks, USDTV subscribers receive all local digital and high-definition TV channels broadcast in their area. Broadcasters share subscription revenues with USDTV. In Q4 2004, USDTV will introduce a next-generation set-top box featuring Zenith? s fifth-generation 8VSB reception technology from LG Electronics and MPEG4 compression, which will enable the company to introduce new services, such as VOD and digital video recording (DVR) capabilities. USDTV's primary national distribution partner, Wal-Mart, offers an ""off-air-only"" HDTV receiver, supplied by USDTV under the brand name USDIGITAL, in over 3,000 stores nationwide and over its Internet site. These HD tuners are USDTV Ready and receive all new digital and HDTV channels broadcast by local TV stations. As USDTV's service becomes available in each market, customers can activate the service through a phone call to the USDTV call center.For more information, please visit www.usdtv.com.
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