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1999 Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association Show READ ALL ABOUT IT! PAGE 5 Local TV On Satellite Needs $900 Million Capitol Broadcasting’s Local TV On Satellite projects it will need $900 million to begin implementing its plan to bring a local-into-local service to the top 68 television markets in the United States, Executive Vice President John Hutchinson said during a press conference Monday. Local TV plans to serve the rest of the country with local broadcast stations after it completes its first phase of operations, but likely will need government subsidies to do so, he added. Local TV currently is in talks with both EchoStar and DirecTv to use its local station solutions, but has not signed deals with either company, he said. Talks between the two companies most likely will heat up after the current debate over satellite TV legislation is resolved in Congress, Hutchinson predicted. Local TV currently is advocating full must-carry for satellite because it is in consumers’ best interest, Hutchinson argued. According to a survey conducted for the company, 66 percent of potential satellite TV customers would be less likely to buy a satellite TV system if it did not include the local affiliates of newer networks like Time Warner’s WB and Paramount’s UPN. Local TV has signed retransmission consent agreements with approximately 400 affiliate stations, Hutchinson said, and expects to be be able to easily sign up all the affiliates it will need to implement the first wave of its plan. Using one provider for local network stations on satellite will make sense for satellite TV companies, Hutchinson said, because it would enable them to one fee, rather than having broadcasters charge different fees to providers. Local TV has several investors lined up to provide financing for the spot-beam satellites it will need for its service, Hutchinson claimed, but some only will provide money if they sign distribution agreements with DirecTv and EchoStar. TURN THE PAGE OTHER ISSUES TO LOOK FOR: Monday, July 19, 1999 Tuesday, July 20, 1999   Please direct questions about this site to general.mail@satbiznews.com q 1998 Satellite Business News Inc. All rights reserved.