DirecTV Reaches Agreement With NBC For Retransmission Of Network-Owned Stations

DirecTV Inc. Monday announced it has entered into a multiyear agreement with NBC to provide DirecTV customers in major metropolitan markets across the United States with the signals of their local NBC owned-and-operated television stations. The announcement was made by Eddy Hartenstein, President, DirecTV.Under the terms of the Retransmission Consent Agreement, the NBC broadcast network has granted DirecTV, the nation's largest satellite television service, consent to retransmit the signals of NBC's 13 major-market stations.With the enabling legislation signed into law last week, DirecTV began offering its customers in New York; Los Angeles; Washington, D.C.; Denver; and San Francisco access to their local NBC signals, including news, weather, sports, entertainment and other community-based information.DirecTV will continue to expand its local-into-local service throughout the remainder of the year and 2000 to include additional markets where NBC owns and operates stations. DirecTV initially will offer local channels in up to 24 major metropolitan markets. The agreement will provide the network with satellite coverage of millions of U.S. television homes.With the NBC agreement, DirecTV has now signed retransmission deals with three of the four major broadcast networks to provide satellite subscribers unfettered access to the networks' integrated local and national programming schedule. DirecTV has also signed retransmission agreements with Fox and ABC.""With this agreement in place, we are able to ensure that DirecTV customers in major metropolitan markets around the country will be able to receive their local NBC entertainment and information programming via satellite,"" said DirecTV's Hartenstein. ""We're looking forward to delivering the NBC local programming to millions of current and future DirecTV customers.""Added David Zaslav, President of NBC Cable: ""The popularity of NBC's local and national programming is undeniable. Through this agreement, we are pleased to provide DirecTV's customers access to NBC's local news, information and sports, as well as network programming, available from the NBC station in their markets.""NBC-owned television stations collectively reach more than 28 percent of U.S. television homes. NBC-owned stations are consistently ranked among the most popular news providers in their local markets. NBC owns and operates 13 stations nationwide, including 10 stations in the top 20 markets. NBC's primetime schedule features hits including ""ER,"" ""Third Rock From the Sun,"" ""Friends,"" ""Law and Order,"" ""The West Wing,"" ""Frasier"" and""Dateline.""DirecTV has approximately 7.8 million customers, including customers subscribing to PrimeStar By DirecTV. DirecTV is a registered trademark of DirecTV Inc., a unit of Hughes Electronics Corp. Hughes Electronics is the world's leading provider of digital television entertainment, and satellite and wireless systems and services.NBC is a global media company with broadly diverse holdings. NBC owns and operates the NBC Television Network as well as 13 television stations. In the United States, NBC owns CNBC, operates MSNBC in partnership with Microsoft, and maintains equity interests in Arts & Entertainment and The History Channel. NBC also has an equity stake in Rainbow Programming Holdings, a leading media company with a wide array of entertainment and sports cable channels, including the Madison Square Garden network, and ValueVision International. Internationally, NBC owns and operates CNBC: A Service of NBC and Dow Jones in partnership with Dow Jones & Company in Europe and Asia. In partnership with National Geographic and Fox/BskyB, the network owns and operates the National Geographic Channel in Europe and Asia.