The National Football League and DIRECTV Latin America, LLC have agreed to a new three-year distribution contract to offer the most comprehensive coverage of the NFL in the region while helping serve the growing number of American football fans in Latin America.
The agreement, which offers NFL SUNDAY TICKET as an exclusive, stand-alone option for DIRECTV(tm) subscribers in Mexico, Brazil, Colombia and Chile, takes effect in time for the kickoff of the 2003 season, which begins on September 4 when the New York Jets face the Washington Redskins.
With NFL Sunday Ticket, DIRECTV subscribers in those markets will be able to watch up to 14 regular-season games per weekend and more than 220 games during the entire season. DIRECTV will make the NFL Sunday Ticket package available to their customers beginning August 1.
‘American football continues to grow in popularity around the world,’ said DOUG QUINN, NFL senior vice president and managing director of NFL International. ‘This agreement will help us provide great programming to our existing fans as well as assist in generating even more interest in our sport.’
‘We are happy to continue to offer fans of American football in Latin America the best and most complete NFL coverage in the region,’ said ANTONIO B. BARRETO, senior vice president of programming and marketing for DIRECTV Latin America, LLC.
DIRECTV will increase its marketing and promotional activities around NFL SUNDAY TICKET, including campaigns in print, television and radio.
About DIRECTV:
DIRECTV is the leading direct-to-home satellite television service in Latin American and the Caribbean. Currently, the service reaches approximately 1.5 million customers in the region, in a total of 28 markets. DIRECTV is currently available in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Puerto Rico, Trinidad & Tobago, Uruguay, Venezuela and several Caribbean island nations.
DIRECTV Latin America, LLC is a multinational company owned by DIRECTV Latin America Holdings, a subsidiary of Hughes Electronics Corporation; Darlene Investments, LLC, an affiliate of the Cisneros Group of Companies, and Grupo Clarín. DIRECTV Latin America has offices in Buenos Aires, Argentina; São Paulo, Brazil; Cali, Colombia; Mexico City, Mexico; Carolina, Puerto Rico; Fort Lauderdale, USA; and Caracas, Venezuela. For more information on DIRECTV Latin American please visit www.directvla.com.
Hughes Electronics Corporation, a unit of General Motors Corporation, is a world-leading provider of digital television entertainment, broadband satellite networks and services, and global video and data broadcasting. The earnings of HUGHES are used to calculate the earnings attributable to the General Motors Class H common stock (NYSE:GMH).
For more information contact:
Jannice Reyes
954-958-3251
jreyes@directvla.com