NEW YORK, December 19, 2000 – DIRECTV Latin America, ISL Worldwide and the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) announced today that DIRECTV Latin America has acquired exclusive broadcast rights to the 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cup Championships and other FIFA world championships. The agreement covers all television and radio broadcast rights in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico Uruguay and Venezuela, and reflects a value of more than $400 million.

Millions of soccer fans throughout Latin America and around the world are expected to be watching when 32 finalists gather for the groundbreaking 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan, which begins in Seoul on May 31, 2002 and concludes with the Final in Yokohama on June 30th. The 2006 FIFA World Cup will take place in Germany.

The biggest sporting event on earth, the 2002 FIFA World Cup will be the first of the new millennium, the first to be held in Asia and the first to be co-hosted. Almost 110 million people in Latin America watched the 1998 France World Cup, far surpassing the Olympics and other major sporting events.

DIRECTV™ will carry all 64 FIFA World Cup matches live for subscribers in each of the countries covered by the agreement. DIRECTV will also broadcast the FIFA World Cup final draw, to be held on December 1, 2001 in the PUEXCO convention center in Busan, one of the ten Korean cities to host the matches.

In all, DIRECTV expects to air more than 1,000 hours of digital FIFA World Cup-related programming.

DIRECTV Comes of Age In Sports Television with the World’s Most Prestigious Soccer Competition.

Michael T. Smith, chairman and CEO of HUGHES, which owns 74% of DIRECTV Latin America, said: ‘There’s no sporting event on earth like the FIFA World Cup, and there’s nowhere millions of Latin American soccer fans will get more comprehensive coverage than on DIRECTV. This is the first time in history that a multi-channel operator has acquired exclusive television and radio broadcast rights to this type of premier sports property. Our association with the world’s most watched sporting event and our multi-year pact with the international soccer world’s most important governing body marks a coming of age for DIRECTV’s service and our Latin American viewers.’

Gustavo A. Cisneros, chairman and CEO of the Cisneros Group, a co-owner of DIRECTV Latin America, added, ‘This trailblazing agreement to offer FIFA World Cup football and premiere football programming to Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Uruguay and Venezuela marks another first for DIRECTV Latin America. It further establishes our brand in the region as the leading platform for world-class information, entertainment and sports programming. The broadcasting of FIFA World Cup programming is yet another example of DIRECTV Latin America’s commitment to bringing viewers in the region unparalleled breadth and scope of premiere programming. Throughout the region, fans and fellow broadcasters will know DIRECTV as the place to turn for breathtaking FIFA World Cup competition.’

In addition to the FIFA World Cup competitions in 2002 and 2006, the unprecedented agreement includes exclusive television and radio broadcast rights to the biennial FIFA Under-17 World Championships, World Youth Championships and Confederations Cup through 2005; as well as the 2003 Women’s World Cup.

DIRECTV will sub-license terrestrial TV and radio rights for the opening, semi-final and final 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cup matches as well as national team matches for each of the home countries, daily match results and tape-delay highlights.

Joseph S. Blatter, president of FIFA said: ‘We welcome DIRECTV to the select, multinational family of FIFA partners. The FIFA World Cup competition began seventy years ago when Uruguay won the gold trophy. Today, DIRECTV makes Latin American FIFA World Cup history again with a breakthrough broadcast rights agreement. We believe it’s the start of a rewarding partnership and another sign of soccer’s truly global dimensions.’

Jean-Marie Weber, vice chairman of the ISSM board, and chairman of ISL Worldwide, said: ‘We are delighted, after many months of discussions with a wide range of potential partners, to have been able to agree to this deal with DIRECTV Latin America. DIRECTV Latin America is one of the strongest media groups in the region, and we have been very impressed by their wide ranging plans for the delivery of the world’s foremost event to the fans in each of these six important countries.’

DIRECTV Named Official Broadcaster of the FIFA World Cup.

DIRECTV will become the Official Broadcast Partner of the 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cups in each of the six countries covered by the agreement.

In all, DIRECTV will cover more than 500 FIFA matches. As part of its live digital service, DIRECTV expects to offer the first multi-camera transmission of a FIFA World Cup in Latin America, with advanced stereo audio transmission. DIRECTV will also introduce interactive TV applications developed for the FIFA World Cup telecasts.

In addition to exclusive broadcast rights, DIRECTV has acquired rights to the official 2002 FIFA World Cup music, emblems, trademarks and mascots.

DIRECTV currently has more than 1.2 million customers in Latin America and the Caribbean, reaching a total of 27 markets. bIt is the first digital direct-to-home entertainment service to reach Latin America and the Caribbean and it is the leading provider of satellite television in the region. The service offers an extensive programming line-up from Latin America, the United States, Europe and Asia. DIRECTV is currently available in: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Puerto Rico, Trinidad & Tobago, Venezuela and several Caribbean island nations.

For further information, please contact:
Jannice Reyes
DIRECTV Latin America, LLC
Tel: +1 954 958 3251
jreyes@directvla.com