Columbia TriStar Advertiser Sales Partners With DIRECTV as Exclusive National Advertising Representative.

CULVER CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 16, 1999--

Relationship to Offer Maximum Efficiency for Targeted Advertisers

Columbia TriStar Advertiser Sales (CTAS), the advertiser- supported sales division of Columbia TriStar Television Distribution, and DIRECTV Inc. have entered into a multiyear agreement in which CTAS will be the exclusive representative for national spot sales on cable networks and advertiser-supported channels on the DIRECTV platform.

DIRECTV is the nation's leading direct broadcast satellite television service, delivering more than 185 channels of programming to more than 4.5 million subscribers.

The joint announcement was made Tuesday by Eddy W. Hartenstein, president of DIRECTV; Jon Feltheimer, president, Columbia TriStar Television Group and executive vice president, Sony Pictures Entertainment; and Barry Thurston, president, Columbia TriStar Television Distribution (CTTD).

Initially, CTAS will offer availabilities to national advertisers in clusters that will include sports, news, information and entertainment programming, allowing sponsors to target specific demographic profiles, achieving maximum reach with very little duplication.

Within the DIRECTV programming lineup, advertisers will have access to such prestigious networks as Comedy Central, USA, TNT, TBS, A&E, MTV and others.

Additionally, availabilities will be offered in such exclusive DIRECTV sports packages as NFL SUNDAY TICKET, which delivers up to 13 games every Sunday of the regular season, and "Mega March Mania," which will deliver up to 34 out-of-market games from the first three rounds of the 1999 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.

Advertisers will also have the opportunity to develop targeted campaigns utilizing new interactive and e-commerce services DIRECTV plans to introduce beginning this year.

"The opportunity to be the first in bringing a national advertising component to the country's premier direct-to-home digital television entertainment service is tremendously exciting," commented Feltheimer.

"DIRECTV's growth as a major program supplier, coupled with the reputation and capabilities of CTAS, is a nice fit and represents the beginning of what we believe will become a long and mutually rewarding relationship."

"With more than 4.5 million subscribers, DIRECTV is the fourth largest multichannel video service in the country, and we provide advertisers a new national media platform in which to reach a highly targeted and desirable audience," said Hartenstein. "The landscape for media buying is changing and our relationship with CTAS will allow us to expand our business and generate incremental revenue."

Since its launch in 1994, DIRECTV has used network availabilities to promote the wide array of movies, sports and special-event programming available to its subscribers.

DIRECTV parent, Hughes Electronics Corp., recently announced three transactions designed to significantly grow the DIRECTV business and expand its channel capacity: a merger with United States Satellite Broadcasting; the acquisition of the 2.3 million-subscriber PRIMESTAR direct broadcast satellite medium-power business; and the acquisition of the Tempo high-power satellite assets.

Upon receipt of regulatory and other approvals of these transactions, DIRECTV will feature more than 370 channels of available capacity.

Since its inception in 1982, Columbia TriStar Advertiser Sales has become one of the fastest growing divisions within Sony Pictures Entertainment. From two employees to its present staff of 32, CTAS has also achieved comparable growth in the amount of inventory the division handles.

CTAS is charged with national advertising sales for first-run and off-network programming, including such shows as "Seinfeld," "Mad About You," "Ricki Lake," "V.I.P.," "Donny & Marie," "The Newlywed Game," "The Dating Game" and "Walker, Texas Ranger," and is responsible for national advertising sales for Sony Pictures Entertainment's The Game Show Network, as well as worldwide advertiser-supported advertising sales, coordinating the division's efforts internationally with CTTD and Columbia TriStar International Television (CTIT).

Columbia TriStar Advertiser Sales is a Sony Pictures Entertainment company. Sony Pictures' global operations encompass motion-picture production and distribution, television programming and syndication, home-video acquisition and distribution, operation of studio facilities, development of new entertainment technologies and distribution of filmed entertainment in 67 countries worldwide.

Sony Pictures Entertainment can be found on the World Wide Web at www.spe.sony.com.

DIRECTV provides more than 4.5 million subscribers with access to more than 185 channels of programming, such as popular cable networks and commercial-free audio channels in digital-quality picture and sound, and more sports than any other direct broadcast satellite service or cable provider.

DIRECTV is a registered trademark of DIRECTV Inc., a unit of Hughes Electronics. The earnings of Hughes Electronics are used to calculate the earnings per share attributable to GMH (NYSE symbol) common stock. Visit DIRECTV on the World Wide Web at www.directv.com.