DISH Unveils 500 Channel Satellite TV System EchoStar Now Shipping DISH 500, First Single Small Dish To Receive 500 Channels From Two Satellite Slots
EchoStar Now Shipping DISH 500, First Single Small Dish To Receive 500 Channels From Two Satellite Slots Echostar Communications Corp. (NASDAQ: DISH, DISHP) unveiled the worldís first and only 500 channel television system at the Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Associationís national expo in Las Vegas this week. With the press of a button on a TV remote control, EchoStar Chairman and CEO Charlie Ergen activated DISH 500, a single pizza-sized dish from DISH Networkô that will offer consumers 500 channels of popular satellite television, including local channels, Internet, HDTV and foreign and Spanish language programming. DISH Network is now offering 350 channels, and with the launch of the EchoStar V satellite in late summer, DISH Network will add 150 more channels to become the first TV provider in the nation to offer 500 channels using a single dish pointed at both 110 degrees West Longitude and 119 degrees W.L. ""We are pleased to become the first television provider in the United States to step into the 21st century with the ability to offer consumers 500 channels of the most requested satellite programming, HDTV and data and Internet services,"" Ergen said. ""Cable companies have been promising 500 channels for years but never delivered. DISH Network is proud to be the company that will fulfill this promise for consumers."" DISH 500 is a small satellite dish that is equipped with dual amplifiers and feeder horns that enable the dish to receive signals from satellites located at both 119 degrees W.L. and 110 degrees W.L. EchoStar is now shipping new customers a DISH 500 satellite TV system with EchoStarís Model 4722 for the same low price of $299 (MSRP). Existing DISH Network customers can upgrade to DISH 500 without replacing their current satellite receivers, giving all DISH Network customers access to 500 digital channels of crystal-clear video and CD-quality audio, including an on-screen programming guide and V-chip type parental control technology. DISH 500 will also be available for DISHPlayerô, the worldís first integrated satellite and Internet receiver using WebTV Networks, Inc., WebTV Plus service for satellite. For more information, contact EchoStar Communications Corp., Judianne Atencio, Communications Director, at 303 723 2010 or e-mail: judianne.atencio@echostar.com.