DIRECTV Expands Atlanta Local Broadcast Channel Package; Additional Local Channels Now Available to Atlanta Customers.

Business & Entertainment Editors

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 27, 2001

DIRECTV, Inc., provider of the nation's leading digital satellite television service, announced that beginning today, Dec. 27, 2001, it is offering six additional local broadcast channels via satellite for its DIRECTV customers in the Atlanta designated market area (DMA).

Since 1999 DIRECTV has been offering its customers in the Atlanta DMA access to a local channel package that includes WSB (ABC), WGCL (CBS), WXIA (NBC) and WAGA (FOX) for $5.99 per month. DIRECTV is expanding the Atlanta local channel package to include WGTV (PBS), WPBA (PBS), WUVG (Univision)(b), WATL (WB), WATC (ETV), WUPA (UPN), at no additional charge.

                 Atlanta DMA New Local Channel Package

--  WSB (ABC)/Channel 2           --  WPBA (PBS)/Channel 30(a)
--  WGCL (CBS)/Channel 46         --  WUVG (Univision)/Channel 34(b)
--  WXIA (NBC)/Channel 11         --  WATL (WB)/Channel 36(a)
--  WAGA (FOX)/Channel 5          --  WATC (ETV)/Channel 57(a)
--  WGTV (PBS)/Channel 8(a)       --  WUPA (UPN)/Channel 69(a)
(a) New local channels available
(b) Coming soon

"Enabling our customers to receive these additional local channels provides them with a true cable replacement," said Roxanne Austin, president and COO of DIRECTV, Inc. "By offering more local channels on DIRECTV programming, our customers can access entertainment and information that's most relevant to their lives and their community. Now is as good a time as any for consumers in Atlanta to drop their cable service and choose DIRECTV as their source for home entertainment."

Local channels are delivered to DIRECTV customers in Atlanta from DIRECTV's primary orbital slot at 101 degrees West Longitude. As a result, DIRECTV customers can receive their local channels as well as DIRECTV's current lineup of national digital entertainment and information programming through their existing set-top box and 18-inch antenna.

Local Atlanta channels from DIRECTV are available in the following counties:

Georgia counties:

-- Banks       -- Floyd                 -- Lamar        -- Spalding
-- Barrow      -- Forsyth               -- Lumpkin      -- Towns
-- Bartow      -- Fulton                -- Meriwether   -- Troup
-- Butts       -- Gilmer                -- Morgan       -- Union
-- Carroll     -- Gordon                -- Newton       -- Upson
-- Cherokee    -- Greene                -- Oconee       -- Walton
-- Clarke      -- Gwinnett              -- Oglethorpe   -- White
-- Clayton     -- Habersham             -- Paulding
-- Cobb        -- Hall                  -- Pickens
-- Coweta      -- Haralson              -- Pike
-- Dawson      -- Harris (31822 only)   -- Polk
-- Dekalb      -- Heard                 -- Putnam
-- Douglas     -- Henry                 -- Rabun
-- Fayette     -- Jackson               -- Rockdale
               -- Jasper

Alabama counties:       North Carolina counties:
-- Cleburne             -- Clay
-- Randolph

DIRECTV is supporting its local-into-local offerings in Atlanta with marketing, point-of-sale and advertising campaigns in coordination with its extensive consumer electronics retailing partners and affiliate satellite dealers.

DIRECTV is the nation's leading digital satellite television service provider with more than 10.3 million customers. DIRECTV and the Cyclone Design logo are trademarks of DIRECTV, Inc., a unit of Hughes Electronics Corporation. HUGHES is the world's leading provider of digital television entertainment, broadband services, satellite-based private business networks, and global video and data broadcasting. The earnings of HUGHES, a unit of General Motors Corporation, are used to calculate the earnings per share attributable to the General Motors Class H common stock (NYSE:GMH). Visit DIRECTV on the World Wide Web at DIRECTV.com.