DIRECTV Teams With NBC Universal On Enhanced Coverage of 2008 Beijing Olympic Games

NBC’s Enhanced Olympic Games Features Available Via DIRECTV Resulted in More than 17 Million Impressions Among the 1.8 Million Customers Using the Interactive Platform

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--DIRECTV’s customers did virtually everything but actually get on a plane and fly to Beijing to experience NBC Universal’s (NBCU) coverage of the 2008 Olympic Games first-hand. DIRECTV posted strong results across its entire suite of NBCU enhanced features during the two-week competition, including NBCU’s Olympics on Demand, the Olympic Interactive platform, and the DVR scheduler service, all of which were available free of charge to DIRECTV’s customers nationwide.

“Results from the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games on the networks of NBCU truly exceeded our expectations and allowed our customers to get a virtual front-row seat to the world’s most popular sporting event”

DIRECTV’s interactive platform for NBCU’s coverage of the Olympic Games generated more than 17 million impressions among the 1.8 million interactive customers who used the service. The most popular features included the interactive Olympic Guide, Medal Count and Today’s Trivia, which included daily news and results from the Olympic Games.

In addition to the interactive platform, NBCU was the No. 1 viewed programmer on the DIRECTV on Demand platform, while more than half of the top 20 downloaded programs were also Olympic-related titles from NBC. The DIRECTV VOD service offered a dedicated NBC Olympic channel that showcased more than 500 titles from NBCU, in both standard and high-definition, beginning in July and running through the end of the Games.

“Results from the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games on the networks of NBCU truly exceeded our expectations and allowed our customers to get a virtual front-row seat to the world’s most popular sporting event,” said Eric Shanks, executive vice president, DIRECTV Entertainment. “With the success of our interactive platform with NBC during the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Torino, Italy, we knew that there was a demand for more than NBC’s traditional coverage of the events. Viewers wanted the freedom to create their own Olympic experience and we are confident that our suite of enhanced features, in partnership with NBC, helped fans to do just that.”

The DVR Scheduler also played a significant role throughout NBCU’s coverage of the Olympic Games, with the Opening Ceremony ranking as the most requested individual program ever scheduled remotely through the service. In addition, on Aug. 8, 2008 more than half of the recordings scheduled remotely were of NBCU’s Olympic Games programming.

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DIRECTV, Inc. (NASDAQ:DTV), the nation’s leading satellite television service provider, presents the finest television experience available to more than 17.1 million customers in the United States and is leading the HD revolution with more than 130 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 all national cable companies 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.