FCC Approves DirecTV Transfer Of USSB-Owned Frequencies

DirecTV, Inc. has announced that it has received Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approval to acquire control of five frequencies at the 101 degree West Longitude (WL) orbital slot and three frequencies at 110 degrees WL owned by United States Satellite Broadcasting Company, Inc. (USSB).""We appreciate the speed with which the Commission acted on our application,"" said Eddy W. Hartenstein, President of DirecTV. ""This is an important step toward moving forward with an expanded service that will enhance our programming lineup, strengthen our competitive position against cable and allow us to deliver new services to the U.S. Spanish-speaking population ñ an undeserved, but rapidly growing market.""DirecTV will us the tree frequencies at 110 degrees WL t launch this year more than 20 channels of Spanish-language programming.Last December, DirecTV parent company Hughes Electronics Corporation announced it had signed a definitive merger agreement with USSB to acquire the business and assets of USSB in a transaction valued at approximately $1.3 billion. Shortly thereafter, DirecTV filed an application with the FCC to transfer control of the license held by USSB to operate a direct broadcast satellite service via the five frequencies at 101 WL degrees and three frequencies at 110 WL degrees.The merger remains subject to USSB shareholder approval.For more information contact Bob Marsocci at 310 726 4656.