(return to home page) WHO WE ARE About the company E-mail us! Address and phone numbers OUR PRODUCTS Satellite Business News FaxUPDATE Trade Show Dailies Trade Show Videos ONLINE NEWS & INFORMATION Changing Channels Digital TV Beat Scanning the Skies Industry Stats A Look Back: Satellite TV History SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION Sign up for the magazine and the fax Get back issues Read past show news ADVERTISING INFORMATION Ads in the magazine Ads in the fax Trade Show Products Online ads: The latest, hippest way to get your name out there! About our readers

1999 Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association Show READ ALL ABOUT IT! PAGE 2 Hartenstein Explains DirecTv NAB Agreement While he focused most of his keynote address yesterday on the growth and health of the DBS industry, DirecTv President Eddy Hartenstein used part of his time on stage to address a topic of many conversations at the show—his company’s recent agreement with the National Association of Broadcasters on a framework for satellite TV legislation. “It is clear that there are some in both the broadcast and satellite [TV] industry that are not pleased by these recommendations,” Hartenstein said. “But let there be no mistake, I believe every day that satellite TV is unable to carry local channels is another day that satellite TV cannot compete with cable.” Hartenstein repeatedly drove home the need for local-into-local legislation to help satellite TV companies stay ahead of cable operators as they scramble to upgrade their systems to a digital platform. “How can the ability to compete head-to-head with cable now, before digital cable systems—and believe me they will—begin to proliferate, be bad for the [satellite] industry?” Hartenstein asked opponents of the agreement. Following those comments, John MacDougal approached Hartenstein on stage and handed him a DirecTv lapel pin saying, “Your company can no longer represent me, I’m sorry.” Hartenstein countered saying, “That’s what’s great about this industry, there’s a passion involved in it. That’s what’s going to make us different. That’s what’s taken us to where we are today.” MacDougal garnered attention in 1986 as “Captain Midnight,” when he pleaded guilty to federal charges of illegally jamming HBO’s signal while working at an uplink in Florida. Ironically, MacDougal was not an authorized DirecTv retailer, DirecTv said. Hartenstein also refuted arguments that provisions of the NAB agreement eliminating nondiscriminatory retransmission consent would keep DBS companies from offering local stations. “The natural tendency of a young industry such as ours may be to look to the government to do our heavy lifting,” he said. “I don’t think the government is going to be able to provide an effective remedy in this case. I’m confident that DBS providers will be able to negotiate fair and reasonable terms for retransmission consent from the broadcasters. The industry pressure will be enormous, the political pressure will be enormous on them.” Turning away from the DirecTv-NAB agreement, Hartenstein said the satellite TV industry is “in an early point of its growth curve” and will benefit from a host of new interactive services and programming offerings. He specifically touted digital recorders such as TiVo and EchoStar Communication’s DISHPlayer satellite receiver as devices that will increase DBS’ growth by giving consumers more control over which programming they watch. TURN THE PAGE OTHER ISSUES TO LOOK FOR: Monday, July 19, 1999 Wednesday, July 21, 1999   Please direct questions about this site to general.mail@satbiznews.com q 1998 Satellite Business News Inc. All rights reserved.