Press release up at D* - Bold added by me!
DIRECTV Sets the Stage for Aggressive Expansion of Local HD Programming with Successful Launch of Spaceway F2 Satellite
EL SEGUNDO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 16, 2005--
Thirty-Six Major Markets Will Have Access to Local HD Channels Via
DIRECTV by Early 2006; Chicago, Philadelphia, Atlanta
and San Francisco to Roll Out this Month
DIRECTV continued to build the in-orbit framework for the nationwide rollout of hundreds of local high-definition (HD) broadcast channels today with the successful launch of the Spaceway F2 satellite. The new satellite, combined with the Spaceway F1 satellite, will enable DIRECTV to provide local HD channels to customers in 36 major markets, or more than 57 percent of U.S. television households, by early next year.
The Boeing-built spacecraft lifted off today from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana, at 3:46 p.m. PST (8:46 p.m. Kourou time).
Spaceway F2, along with the Spaceway F1 satellite that was placed in orbit in late April, will support the rollout of up to 500 local HD channels. DIRECTV will offer local HD broadcast channels in 12 cities by the end of this year and 24 cities early next year.
Spaceway F1 began transmitting local HD signals to customers in Detroit on Oct. 20, and four markets -- Chicago, Philadelphia, Atlanta and San Francisco -- will begin receiving local HD broadcast channels this month. DIRECTV will also launch HD locals in Tampa, Dallas, Houston, Boston, Washington D.C., Los Angeles and New York in December.
The Spaceway satellites will be joined by two more next-generation spacecraft in 2007, and together they will deliver more than 1,500 local and 150 national HD channels to DIRECTV customers nationwide.
"With our unprecedented rollout of local digital and high-definition broadcast channels in major markets underway and the recent launch of our new DIRECTV Plus(R) DVR, we are moving aggressively to provide our customers with an unparalleled television entertainment experience and distinguish the DIRECTV service in the marketplace," said Chase Carey, president and CEO, DIRECTV, Inc. "The successful launch of the Spaceway 2 satellite moves us a step closer to our goal of offering local HD programming to most, if not all, TV households in the United States."
