DIRECTV Opens New Technical Call Center to Support Growth, New Products and Services

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. & MISSOULA, Mont.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 25, 2006--DIRECTV, Inc., the nation's leading satellite TV provider, has opened its fourth owned-and-operated call center to further strengthen its ability to provide technical support for its customers as it continues to expand its advanced products and services, including the roll out of hundreds of local and national HD channels next year.

DIRECTV's Missoula, Mont. Customer Contact Center will have the capacity to employ up to 1,000 customer service professionals dedicated to providing technical support to DIRECTV's more than 15.5 million customers. DIRECTV will be among the largest employers in the state and said it expects to hire more than 600 agents by year end.

The new 74,000-square foot call center was officially opened today at a ribbon cutting ceremony attended by DIRECTV executives and state and local officials.

In addition to providing support for the expanding base of DIRECTV HD customers, Missoula customer call center representatives will provide technical help for new DIRECTV products and advanced television services, such as standard-definition and HD digital video recorders and interactive services.

"With DIRECTV on the threshold of an exponential growth in capacity, products and services, the technical support provided by the Missoula call center is critical to maintaining customers' satisfaction and ensuring they're able to take advantage of the full array of our industry-leading technology and services," said John Suranyi, president, DIRECTV Sales and Service. "Along with our professional service and installation technicians in the field, our call center agents are on the front lines of an increasingly competitive battle among video providers, and how we fare in that fight will be decided in large part on how well we take care of our customers when they dial 1-800-DIRECTV."

Suranyi added, "Through the commitment of the DIRECTV team and close cooperation of the County and State, we constructed and opened this facility in six months. Everyone's involvement with this project has been fantastic. We are really looking forward to being a productive member of this community and sharing what we believe will be an exciting future."

DIRECTV continues to expand its offering of new advanced products and services and will more than quadruple its capacity next year, enabling DIRECTV to offer more local and national HD channels than any other multichannel video provider. Coupled with new content, DIRECTV has also rolled out its most advanced set-top receiver, the DIRECTV Plus(R) HD DVR, which has the ability to record up to 200 hours of standard definition content or up to 50 hours of HD (MPEG4) programming and enables customers to experience the world's first HD interactive content via the NFL SUNDAY TICKET(TM) SuperFan subscription.

About DIRECTV, Inc.

DIRECTV, Inc., the nation's leading satellite television service provider, presents the finest television experience available to more than 15.5 million customers through exclusive content, industry-leading customer service (which has surpassed cable for six years running) and superior technologies. Each day, DIRECTV subscribers enjoy over 250 channels of 100% digital picture and sound; exclusive programming; and the most comprehensive collection of sports programming available anywhere, including NFL SUNDAY TICKET(TM) and MLB EXTRA INNINGS(TM). DIRECTV (NYSE:DTV) also leads the digital television technology revolution with exclusives such as NFL SUNDAY TICKET SuperFan(TM), US Open Interactive and YES Network Interactive, and will soon have the capacity to offer over 150 channels in HD. DIRECTV is approximately 39 percent owned by News Corporation. For the most up-to-date information on the Company, please visit directv.com.

CONTACT:
DIRECTV, Inc.
Robert Mercer, 310-726-4683

SOURCE: DIRECTV, Inc.