BBC Technology Spearheads Strategic Growth in North American Marketplace.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 10, 2003

Company Unlocks the Rich Technology Resources and Expertise

of the BBC for U.S. Commercial Organizations Such as DIRECTV

BBC Technology, a leading provider of rich-media technology solutions, today confirmed its presence in the North American market with details about its U.S. business strategy and its media lifecycle management solutions for the U.S. market: News and Sports, Collaborative Production and Broadcast Network Control.

BBC Technology is taking the rich resources, innovation and expertise from working with the BBC over the last 80 years, to commercial organizations in the U.S., UK and the rest of Europe. Delivering open, end-to-end products and services that combine the best of information technology (IT), traditional media production and broadcast video technology, BBC Technology is specifically targeting media owners, broadcasters and owner-operated networks in the U.S.

"As we take our proposition globally, North America is pivotal to our business strategy," said Ann Wilson, President, BBC Technology. "We are excited to introduce our solutions to the U.S. media market and anticipate a positive reception considering that a comparable offering does not exist."

BBC Technology's solutions reflect the company's mission to enable media-driven enterprises with the tools and networks to better manage their costs and maximize the value of content at every stage of the media creation, management and distribution lifecycle. BBC Technology brings three solutions to the North American market, each built on an integrated media platform:

-- News and Sports solution -- supports enterprise-wide, integrated workflow for real time production; providing efficient, high quality use of media assets across multiple programs and channels.

-- Collaborative Production solution -- enables production teams to collaborate in magazine and long-form program creation.

-- Broadcast Network Control solution -- provides control across all areas of distributed broadcast operations, from one uniform interface.

DIRECTV, the leading digital satellite television service in the U.S., is a major BBC Technology customer whose installation is already in progress. In addition to its nationwide programming service, DIRECTV provides local broadcast channels to 52 markets throughout the U.S. by collecting and re-broadcasting each channel back into its home market. BBC Technology is providing the direct broadcast satellite (DBS) provider with a custom version of its Broadcast Network Control solution for remote monitoring and control of DIRECTV's local channel collection facilities.

"We're extremely pleased with the solution we received from BBC Technology," said David Baylor, executive vice president, DIRECTV, Inc. "The customized Broadcast Network Control solution has given us the ability to remotely monitor and control local channel collection facilities, which has translated into high customer satisfaction through rapid remote signal restoration while allowing cost savings through minimizing physical visits to these installations. BBC Technology's solution has enabled us to be more competitive in the marketplace today and will help facilitate the rollout of our services into additional markets in the future."

Having contributed to the successful launch of 220 additional DIRECTV satellite channels for the U.S. market, BBC Technology's Broadcast Network Control solution now provides DIRECTV with remote monitoring of almost 400 channels, from the point of channel acquisition, to uplink and finally the integrity of the downlink. This allows program outages to be easily identified and rectified without DIRECTV staff needing to visit the sites directly. In addition, the solution controls over 3,000 pieces of equipment across the DIRECTV network. The touch-screen panels have provided the operators with an intuitive user interface, and since BBC Technology developed this to closely match DIRECTV's existing operational processes, the solution has also minimized the company's need for expensive user training.

The BBC Technology Team

BBC Technology is led by President, Ann Wilson, who is responsible for the global business strategy, developing products and services, implementing both quality service and cost efficiency practices to all levels of the business.

Other key members of the management team include:

-- Lawrence C Roberts, Chief Financial Officer

-- Craig Dwyer, interim Chief Technical Officer

-- Mitchell Linden, Senior Vice President, North American

Operations

-- Michael Koetter, Vice President of Technology, North America

-- Shannon Kim, Vice President of Sales, North America

-- Adrian Corcoran, Director of Broadcast Solutions & Services

-- Phil Fearnley, Director of New Media Solutions

-- Peter Lickiss, Director of Media Technology Solutions

-- Pam Chase, Director of HR and Internal Communications

BBC Technology is part of BBC Ventures Group, the commercial, business-to-business arm of the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation). New U.S. headquarters for BBC Technology are located in San Francisco, California.

About the Companies

BBC Technology

BBC Technology began trading on March 31, 2001, drawing on the BBC's pioneering technological experience to offer solutions in media, broadcast and interactive applications to both the BBC and other global players. It can design, build and operate systems for managing and distributing content on multimedia platforms. During its first year BBC Technology secured a contract with Hutchison 3G UK Ltd, holder of the UK's largest third-generation mobile phone license, to manage the production of its audio-visual content. The content will be accessible through Hutchison 3G's next-generation wireless service.

BBC Technology is part of the BBC Ventures Group, the umbrella name for the BBC's commercial media services businesses comprising: BBC Resources, BBC Technology, BBC Broadcast and Kingswood Warren Ventures. BBC Ventures Group is wholly owned by the BBC and is charged with the task of maximizing income to deliver back to the BBC to put back into programs and services for the benefit of all.

DIRECTV, Inc.

DIRECTV is the nation's leading digital satellite television service provider with more than 11 million customers. DIRECTV and the Cyclone Design logo are registered trademarks of DIRECTV, Inc., a unit of Hughes Electronics Corp. HUGHES is the world-leading provider of digital television entertainment, broadband satellite networks and services, and global video and data broadcasting. The earnings of HUGHES, a unit of General Motors Corporation, are used to calculate the earnings attributable to the General Motors Class H common stock (NYSE:GMH). For more information, visit www.DIRECTV.com.