DIRECTV Local HD Channels Now Available to 70% of US Households

SOURCE: DIRECTV Inc., 04.18.07

‘Local HD Channels Roll Out Today in Oklahoma City and Santa Barbara, Calif.

WHAT: DIRECTV, Inc., the nation’s leading satellite television service provider, is now delivering local HD programming to customers in Oklahoma City and Santa Barbara, Calif. DIRECTV now offers local HD broadcast channels in 59 cities, representing more than 70 percent of U.S. TV households.

DIRECTV’s local HD channel rollout is part of an aggressive nationwide expansion of HD programming that includes plans to offer local HD channels in up to 75 markets and up to 100 national channels by year end. When DIRECTV’s capacity expansion is completed next year, it will offer more than 1,500 local HD channels and more than 150 national HD channels, establishing DIRECTV as the nation’s leading provider of HD programming.

WHEN: Beginning today, Wednesday, April 18, 2007

DirecTV Rolls Out VOD

SOURCE: multichannelnews.com; 04.02.07

‘El Segundo, Calif.— Looking to make up ground against cable operators and their interactive networks, DirecTV is preparing to roll out a new service that will essentially give basic-cable networks their own dedicated channels for programming delivered on-demand to viewers.

Food Network and Discovery Channel are among more than a dozen programming services that are expected to be available when the big satellite broadcaster launches its new on-demand service in July, according to DirecTV.
LEVELING THE FIELD

The service will allow DirecTV to better compete with cable operators that have been offering on-demand content for years. The biggest cable operator, Comcast, claims to have served up 3.7 billion streams of video on customers’ requests since 2004, for instance.

Now, the largest satellite operator will try to match that. DirecTV executive vice president for entertainment Eric Shanks said the satellite giant has the technological capacity to download video via a broadband connection at speeds that will allow consumers to watch the content in real time.

Shanks said the service will give individual networks complete control over their own channel, including content and marketing messages; and that DirecTV has more than a dozen networks signed up to provide on-demand content.

Scripps Networks confirmed that it will provide content from its Food Network and HGTV-owned channels. Executives close to DirecTV also said Discovery Channel will be part of the service when it debuts. Discovery executives would not comment.
DIFFERENT DEMANDS

The satellite provider’s network branded on-demand strategy differs somewhat from that of many cable operators that amass free on-demand cable-network content within such genres as kids, news and entertainment. Programming executives say such categorization prohibits networks from effectively marketing their brands and content to viewers.

DirecTV subscribers with the company’s high-definition DVR receiver and a high-speed modem connection will be able to access more than 2,000 on-demand movies — many of which will be in high-definition — as well as the cable-network content. Shanks said DirecTV will begin beta-testing the service in April and expects to roll it out to customers in July.

“It depends on your connection,” Shanks said. “A lot of times the content will download faster than real time. There’s nothing technically on our side that limits the consumer’s ability to watch it in real time.”

In other DirecTV new-media news, Shanks said the company will serve up multiple-court coverage of the French Open to support the Tennis Channel’s presentation of the Grand Slam tournament this spring. Similar to the coverage it provided for last summer’s U.S. Open, DirecTV will offer multiple live channels from the tournament, which begins in May, as well as a special “French Open Mix” channel that will feature all live feeds, according to Shanks.

ORIGINAL SERIES

Shanks said the company is also prepping several series for its The 101 original programming channel. DirecTV later this year will launch a game show dubbed Between a Rock and a Hard Place, which will pit bands against each other Family Feud style. “Half the questions will be about rock and roll, but the other half will be about pop culture,” Shanks said.

In August, the network will premiere Championship Gaming Series, a team-based video gaming league. The two shows will join other original shows such as Web user-generated series Project MyWorld and The Fizz, plus a slate of concerts featuring such acts as Beyoncé and Nine Inch Nails.

“The goal is to have your sales sheet out in front of customers at Best Buy and other retailers and to have a set of programming that no one else has that appeals to the women, males and kids in the house,” he said.

On the video-gaming front, Shanks said DirecTV has already signed up 20,000 subscribers to its month-old Game Lounge interactive gaming service without any significant promotion.

He added that poker, solitaire and the Mattel-produced Barbie games are among the service’s most popular games.

Shanks also said that 60% of customers have created their own “avatars” or personal characters with Game Lounge and are posting their high scores for the various games.

“People are really getting involved in the games,” he said.’

DIRECTV Add Local HD Programming in Albuquerque, Buffalo, New Orleans and Tulsa

SOURCE: DIRECTV Inc., 03.29.07

‘MEDIA ADVISORY
April 4, 2007

Local Channels in HD are Now Available to DIRECTV Customers in 57 Markets Representing More Than 69 Percent of U.S. TV Households

WHAT: DIRECTV, Inc., the nation’s leading satellite television service provider, is now delivering local HD programming to customers in Albuquerque, N.M., Buffalo, N.Y., New Orleans and Tulsa, Okla. DIRECTV now offers local HD broadcast channels in 57 cities, representing more than 69 percent of U.S. TV households.

DIRECTV’s local HD channel rollout is part of an aggressive nationwide expansion of HD programming that includes plans to offer local HD channels in up to 75 markets and up to 100 national channels by year end. When DIRECTV’s capacity expansion is completed next year, it will offer more than 1,500 local HD channels and more than 150 national HD channels, establishing DIRECTV as the nation’s leading provider of HD programming.

WHEN: Beginning today, Wednesday, April 4, 2007

DIRECTV Activates HD Local Channel Service in Four New Markets

SOURCE: DIRECTV, Inc., 03.28.07

DIRECTV Activates HD Local Channel Service in Four New Markets

ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC Now Available in HD in Greenville, S.C., Harrisburg, Pa., Jacksonville Fla., and Spokane, Wash.;

DIRECTV Now offers Local HD Channels in 53 Markets

WHAT: DIRECTV, Inc., the nation’s leading satellite television service provider, is now offering local HD programming from ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC to customers in Greenville, S.C., Harrisburg, Pa., Jacksonville Fla., and Spokane, Wash. DIRECTV now offers local HD broadcast channels in 53 cities, representing more than 67 percent of U.S. TV households.

DIRECTV’s local HD channel rollout is part of an aggressive nationwide expansion of HD programming that includes plans to offer local HD channels in up to 75 markets and up to 100 national channels by year end. When DIRECTV’s capacity expansion is complete next year, it will offer more than 1,500 local HD channels and more than 150 national HD channels, establishing DIRECTV as the nation’s leading provider of HD programming.

WHEN: Beginning today, Wednesday, March 28, 2007

DIRECTV Tops Installer Preference

SOURCE: SKYReport.com03.14.07

‘A new national survey suggests that the nation’s fleet of professional home theater technicians do have a preference when it comes to best picture quality: DIRECTV. The survey said that by a four-to-one margin, home theater installers chose DIRECTV as the service that provides the best video over cable.

Conducted by the Alliance Consulting Group with 500 professional home theater professionals, the study also showed that many installers prefer DIRECTV in a few other categories as well.

According to the survey, installers chose DIRECTV two-to-one over cable for having the best overall television experience; three-to-one over cable for best home theater experience on a high-def system; more than two-to-one for best overall picture quality on a high-def system; and three-to-one for the best home theater experience.

No word if the study will show up as evidence in the lawsuit Time Warner Cable filed against DIRECTV over the DBS company’s ads claiming high-def supremacy.’

Top 5 HDTVs

SOURCE: AskMen.com’Microdisplay-based rear-projection HDTVs are more popular than American Idol. These sets use LCD or DLP (digital light processing) light engines, fit into tight spaces, and cost more than regular CRT-based big screens. Only one, Hitachi’s 50V500, earned CNET.com’s coveted Editors’ Choice award, but all five high definition televisions are worth a look.5. Gateway 56-inch DLP HD-ready TVThe good: Relatively inexpensive; excellent connectivity; versatile PIP; bright and incredibly detailed image; robust, low-maintenance technology; wide viewing angle.The bad: Still much pricier than similar-size CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) rear projectors; some rainbow effects; video noise and grayish blacks in darker scenes; inaccurate color.The bottom line: Gateway’s budget DLP rear projector won’t win on style, but its picture is a pleasant surprise.4. Samsung HLN467WThe good: Striking design; excellent connectivity; bright, incredibly detailed image; robust, low-maintenance technology; wide viewing angle.

The bad: Expensive; some rainbow effects; video noise and grayish blacks in darker scenes.

The bottom line: This smaller projection TV offers razor-sharp images and boatloads of features, but it also costs as much as a plasma.

3. Sony KF-50WE610

The good: Black-level performance on par with DLP TVs; slim, light and stylish design; excellent feature package.

The bad: Black-level performance is still not quite as good as that of CRT-based RPTVs (Rear-Projection TVs); lacks independent memory per input; expensive.

The bottom line: A huge leap forward in performance for LCD rear-projection TVs, the newest Grand WEGA line gives DLP a run for its money.

2. Sony KF-60WE610

The good: Black-level performance on par with DLP TVs; slim, light and stylish design; excellent feature package.

The bad: Black-level performance is still not quite as good as that of CRT-based RPTVs; lacks independent memory per input; expensive.

The bottom line: A huge leap forward in performance for LCD rear-projection TVs, the newest Grand WEGA line gives DLP a run for its money.

1. Hitachi 50V500

The good: Black-level performance on par with DLP TVs; slim and light design; custom “day & night” modes for each input; excellent feature package.

The bad: Black-level performance still less than perfect; expensive.

The bottom line: While not quite as fetching as some, this set offers the best out-of-the-box performance we’ve seen yet from a rear-projection LCD.’

DirectStarTV Sales Positions