DIRECTV and Twentieth Television Expand Exclusive Advertising Sales Agreement to Include DIRECTV Para Todos(R)

DIRECTV and Twentieth Television Expand Exclusive Advertising Sales Agreement to Include DIRECTV Para Todos(R)

Twentieth Television Now Responsible for Handling All Ad Sales for Leading Digital Television Service Provider

EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Dec. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- DIRECTV, Inc., the nation's leading digital television service, and Twentieth Television, DIRECTV's advertising sales partner, announced the expansion of their current advertising sales agreement to include DIRECTV Para Todos(R), DIRECTV's most comprehensive Spanish- and English-language programming platform, beginning Jan. 1, 2006.

Under the exclusive arrangement, Twentieth Television will be responsible for overseeing all general market and direct response ad sales for select channels available on DIRECTV Para Todos. DIRECTV's Para Todos provides access to more than 55 Spanish-language and 220 English-language channels, all in digital quality, featuring a variety of sports, news, entertainment and family programming. Currently, DIRECTV Para Todos is available in more than 850,000 homes throughout the country.

"The customer base for the DIRECTV PARA TODOS Spanish-language platform has more than tripled in the past 18 months," said Eric Shanks, executive vice president, DIRECTV Entertainment, DIRECTV, Inc. "Our current partnership with Twentieth Television has been extremely successful and we look forward to Twentieth helping us to reach this growing and increasingly more affluent demographic."

Bob Cesa, executive vice president of advertising, Twentieth Television, stated, "It has been a pleasure to work with and to represent DIRECTV to the advertising community. We are proud that our success has resulted in growing the relationship to include DIRECTV Para Todos. The Latino community is the fastest growing market in the country with immense buying power. We are now uniquely positioned to empower advertisers with a direct link to this highly attractive demographic."

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Latino market is projected to account for more than 15 percent of the country's total population by 2010. The Hispanic community's buying power also is significantly expanding, outpacing the general market by nearly seven percent.

With this agreement, Twentieth Television now manages all advertising sales for DIRECTV. Most recently, the companies announced the formation of the DIRECTV Advertising Development Partner Program, with Chrysler Group as one of its clients. The initiative provides clients with a robust interactive advertising and research vehicle that spans across multiple DIRECTV platforms, including interactive set-top receivers, digital video recorders (DVRs) and the DIRECTV DVR Client Server.

About DIRECTV, Inc.

DIRECTV, Inc. is the nation's leading digital television service with more than 15 million customers. DIRECTV and the Cyclone Design logo are registered trademarks of DIRECTV, Inc. DIRECTV (NYSE:DTV) is a world-leading provider of digital multichannel television entertainment services. DIRECTV is approximately 34 percent owned by News Corporation.

About DIRECTV PARA TODOS(R) Programming

Launched in October 1999, the DIRECTV PARA TODOS service offers the most comprehensive Spanish- and English-language programming available at an affordable price. The service provides access to more than 55 Spanish- language channels* including sports, movies, music, news and educational networks and 220 English-language channels of DIRECTV(R) programming, featuring the largest selection of pay per view choices and sports programming available. *Includes English-language broadcast channels with alternate Spanish audio.

About Twentieth Television

A leader in the domestic program production and distribution arena, Twentieth Television provides a wide array of first-run and off-network programming, as well as feature film packages, to the syndication and cable marketplaces. First-run programs distributed by Twentieth Television include "Geraldo at Large," the new strip hosted by award-winning broadcast journalism legend Geraldo Rivera, and the popular court shows "Divorce Court" and "Judge Alex," the number one new first-run program of the 2005-06 season. Twentieth Television also oversees the domestic sales of one of the most extensive libraries of off-net programming in the entertainment industry. In fall 2005, the company launched the groundbreaking drama "24," starring Kiefer Sutherland, and The Peabody Award-winning sitcom "The Bernie Mac Show" in off-net syndication.

Source: DIRECTV, Inc.

CONTACT: Jade Ekstedt of DIRECTV, Inc., +1-310-964-3429; or Les Eisner
of Twentieth Television, +1-310-369-3293

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