$1,000,000 In Prize Money Up For Grabs during DIRECTV's Broadcast of 2008 Championship Gaming Series

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--DIRECTV’s The 101 Network brings gaming back to its summer line up with the broadcast of the Championship Gaming Series (CGS) North America and World Final competitions. The action kicks off on DIRECTV’s original entertainment network Monday, June 16 at 10 p.m. EDT and will broadcast live in HD every Monday and Wednesday night leading up to the North America Final July 7 and the World Final starting July 14.

“With the popularity and sales of video games growing by leaps and bounds every year, it has been an important goal of CGS to continue to grow the exposure of our teams, our professional players, and our top-notch television programming”

“This has been a record year for the video game industry and interest in professional video gaming has never been higher,” said Eric Shanks, executive vice president DIRECTV Entertainment. “Gaming is the most exciting sport to hit the television industry in years, and we’re dedicating the months of June and July so that our more than 17 million subscribers can take part in all the action, live. With the addition of CGS to our sports line-up, we’ve solidified our placement as the gold standard in programming, providing the most and best sports in HD. No other cable or satellite provider can top our sports offerings.”

“With the popularity and sales of video games growing by leaps and bounds every year, it has been an important goal of CGS to continue to grow the exposure of our teams, our professional players, and our top-notch television programming,” added Andy Reif, Chief Executive Officer and Commissioner for CGS. “DIRECTV's ongoing commitment to televise our programming live and in high definition raises the profile of our league to the mainstream television audience and gives us a fantastic platform to show viewers throughout North America the excitement and passion involved in every CGS match.”

Premiering tonight night at 10 p.m. EDT, the North American (NA) competition begins with San Francisco Optx as they face off against Dallas Venom. Then at 11:30 p.m. EDT it’s the rematch of the summer as the 2007 World Champion Chicago Chimera face off against runners-up Carolina Core in a battle for bragging rights. The season will continue throughout the remainder of June as all six teams, including Los Angeles Complexity and New York 3D, vie for a playoff spot and a chance to compete for $1,000,000 in prize money, with the winning team receiving a payout of $500,000.

Immediately following the NA Final, the top two teams from North America and each of the other five regions will descend upon the CGS arena for the World Final competition. The teams will pair up in a single elimination ladder where the winning team from each match-up will advance to the next round. Every shot, every frag and every win from the CGS World Final will also be broadcast live and in HD exclusively on The 101 Network.

The excitement takes place at Barker Hanger in Santa Monica, California where 12-time Emmy Award-winning sports producer Mike Burks and his team will transform the airplane hanger into a gaming gauntlet. Burks’ team will man more than 10 HD cameras and countless HD virtual cameras to ensure that viewers at home won’t miss any of the competition. The live broadcast will also feature commentary from gaming and sports experts including: Johnathan “Fatal1ty” Wendel, Paul "ReDeYe" Chaloner, Marcus “DJ Wheat” Graham, and Fox Sports Radio host Andrew Siciliano.

During the course of those action-packed two months, viewers will watch as teams from around the world compete for prize money in competitions featuring the four official CGS games: Dead or Alive 4, Forza Motorsport 2, CounterStrike: Source and Fifa ‘08. Each team consists of ten players and the team with the most points at the end of the match wins.

CGS is the world’s premiere gaming league and the only one televised live and in HD, consisting of top gamers from around the world as they compete for the World Champion title and thousands of dollars in prize money. The league is now in its second year, and is divided into eighteen teams across six regions: North America, UK, Europe, Asia and Australia, Middle East and Latin America.

For more information about The 101 Network or the CGS, please visit: www.directv.com/the101 or www.thecgs.com

About DIRECTV, Inc.

DIRECTV, Inc. (NASDAQ:DTV), the nation’s leading satellite television service provider, presents the finest television experience available to more than 17 million customers in the United States and is leading the HD revolution with 95 national HD channels – more quality HD channels than any other television provider. Each day, DIRECTV subscribers enjoy access to over 265 channels of 100% digital picture and sound, exclusive programming, industry-leading customer satisfaction (which has surpassed cable for eight years running) and superior technologies that include advanced DVR and HD-DVR services and the most state-of-the-art interactive sports packages available anywhere. For the most up-to-date information on DIRECTV, please visit directv.com.

About Championship Gaming Series

Headquartered in Los Angeles, CA, the Championship Gaming Series ® (CGS) is the only worldwide professional video gaming league. Launched in 2007, and a joint venture among BSkyB, DIRECTV and STAR, CGS features teams of the world's best gamers from North America, Latin America, the United Kingdom, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Australia. The league distributes entertainment content to more than 400 million viewers worldwide via DIRECTV in North America and Latin America, BSkyB in the UK, Eurosport in Europe, ESPN-STAR and STAR in Asia and STAR in Australia. CGS sponsors include Mountain Dew, Creative, Xbox 360 and Dell.