EchoStar, OpenTV Partner To Develop Satellite Television Receiver With Hard Disk Drive

EchoStar Communications Corporation (NASDAQ: DISH) (NASDAQ: DISHP) and OpenTV Corp. (NASDAQ: OPTV) (Amsterdam Stock Exchange: OPTV), the leading worldwide provider of software to enable digital interactive television, today announced the formation of a joint venture expected to offer DISH Networkô customers and other video platforms around the world a low cost, interactive digital receiver with a built-in hard disk drive that will permit viewers to pause and record live programs without the need for video tape. The new set-top box, expected to be available during the fourth quarter of 2000, could also offer interactive television services developed by OpenTV, including a new electronic program guide, a local weather application and other innovative interactive applications for consumers. EchoStar made the announcement at Team Summit 2000 in Denver, Colorado, its annual conference of more than 1,600 DISH Network retailers from across the nation. As early as this spring, existing DISH Network customers with EchoStar's Model 3822 and Model 4722 satellite receivers may be able to access certain OpenTV interactive services that do not require a hard drive. EchoStar and OpenTV have each contributed licenses to certain of their intellectual property to the joint venture. In addition, in connection with formation of the joint venture, OpenTV is issuing approximately 2,250,000 shares of OpenTV stock to EchoStar. ""Interactive television, combined with a hard disk drive that uses OpenTV software, is an exciting new medium that can provide DISH Network with tremendous opportunity to produce new content for our customers as well as offer them convenient e-commerce applications,"" said Charlie Ergen, CEO and Chairman of EchoStar. ""EchoStar is proud to work together with OpenTV to lead America into the 21st Century of television."" DISH Network could offer interactive services for its Models 3822 and Model 4722 as early as this spring, including an interactive weather application and a new electronic program guide. The interactive weather application offers instant local weather information for over 800 cities nationwide. This service saves time for customers by delivering them instant access to local weather conditions with a touch of a remote control. OpenTV currently offers a similar service to more than six million homes worldwide. DISH Network may also offer customers a new, interactive electronic program guide. This new program guide offers picture-in-picture capabilities while browsing the program listings of TV shows. ""We've proven our worldwide leadership in bringing people a new kind of television experience, and this partnership with EchoStar - already enjoying massive U.S. reach - solidified that position,"" said Jan Steenkamp, OpenTV President and CEO. ""This OpenTV-enabled hard disk drive, set-top box will combine the technological and visionary power of two industry leaders to provide TV viewers with everything from video-on-demand to entertainment services to e-commerce capabilities, all in one low-cost box."" OpenTV will develop and produce a number of applications and interactive TV services for the EchoStar-OpenTV joint venture, which will include video replay, interactive TV advertising, and entertainment services like movie information and music news. EchoStar's digital VCR-type product will also have the ability to record OpenTV-enabled interactive programs and services, allowing the viewer to interact even with recorded TV programs.EchoStar Communications Corp., includes three interrelated business units:- DISH Network is EchoStar's state-of-the-art direct broadcast satellite system that is capable of offering over 500 channels of digital video and CD-quality audio programming, including DolbyÆ Digital surround sound, high-speed interactive television and data services, all on a single dish, as well as offering fully MPEG-2/DVB compliant hardware and installation. DISH Network was ranked number one in customer satisfaction among satellite/cable TV subscribers by the J.D. Power and Associates 1999 Cable/Satellite TV Customer Satisfaction Study. - EchoStar Technologies Corporation designs, manufactures and distributes DBS set-top boxes, antennas and other digital equipment for the DISH Network and various international customers that include ExpressVu Canada and the Via Digital system in Spain. ETC provides construction, oversight and project integration services for customers internationally. ETC also oversees EchoStar Data Networks Corporation in Atlanta, Georgia, a leading supplier of MediaStreamô technology for distributing Internet content over satellite networks. - Satellite Services provides the delivery of video, audio and data services to business television customers and other satellite users. These services include satellite uplink, satellite transponder space usage and other services. Satellite Services also administers SKY VISTA, a direct broadcast satellite service offering popular digital satellite television programming to viewers in Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the U.S. territories in the Caribbean. DISH Network, which currently serves over 3.4 million customers, is a trademark of EchoStar Communications Corporation. DISH Network is located on the Internet at www.dishnetwork.com.About OpenTVOpenTV is the leading worldwide provider of software that enables digital interactive television. OpenTV provides a complete end-to-end solution for the development and delivery of interactive services via digital satellite, cable, and terrestrial broadcast. OpenTV set-top box software has been shipped with or installed in more than 6.1 million digital set-top boxes worldwide. To date, OpenTV software solutions have been selected by 24 television network operators worldwide, including British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) in the United Kingdom and TPS in France. The OpenTV set-top box software is licensed to 25 digital set-top box manufacturers, and OpenTV's authoring tools are licensed to more than 100 independent developers and content and service providers. OpenTV is a member of the Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) project, CableLabs OpenCable initiative, ATSC DASE, and JavaTV. OpenTV is a licensee of Personal Javaô from Sun Microsystems. OpenTV is supported by investments from eight leading Internet, broadcast and broadband companies including America Online (NYSE: AOL), General Instrument Corporation (NYSE: GIC), Liberty Digital (NASDAQ: LDIG), News Corporation (NYSE: NWS), Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) and Shaw Communications (NYSE: SJR) in addition to Sun Microsystems (NASDAQ: SUNW) and MIH Limited (NASDAQ: MIHL). Worldwide headquarters for OpenTV is located in Mountain View, California, with European operations in Paris, France, and London, England; and offices in Seoul, South Korea; Tokyo, Japan; Beijing, China; and Sydney, Australia. Information on OpenTV is available at www.opentv.com.