DIRECTV, Inc. Signs Agreement with STAPLES Center To Be Founding Partner
Apr 14, 1999EL SEGUNDO and LOS ANGELES, April 14, 1999
DIRECTV, Inc. and STAPLES Center announced today that DIRECTV, the nation's leading digital television service, has signed an agreement to be STAPLES Center's tenth and final founding partner.
As part of the agreement, DIRECTV will install more than 1,000 television sets that will showcase DIRECTV programming - including four high definition television monitors - into STAPLES Center. Each of the arena's 160 luxury suites will feature three television sets offering a comprehensive package of DIRECTV programming, including a wide variety of cable network channels and professional sports subscriptions. Fans enjoying games from the luxury suites can catch all the NBA and NHL action from around both leagues on DIRECTV while they also watch the Los Angeles Kings, Lakers or Clippers compete in STAPLES Center.
"As a local company - with our corporate headquarters located in the South Bay and our new Los Angeles Broadcast Center opening later this year - DIRECTV is thrilled to be a founding partner of another state-of-the-art Los Angeles project, STAPLES Center, destined to be the world's premier sports and entertainment venue," said Bill Casamo, executive vice president of DIRECTV. "The arena will be fully integrated with DIRECTV technology and programming to provide the ultimate fan experience. Our partnership with STAPLES Center is our most comprehensive venue sponsorship to date and serves as an excellent showcase of what our product and technology brings to the world of sports and entertainment."
"Our partnership with DIRECTV will further enable us to build the most technologically advanced arena in the country," said Timothy J. Leiweke, STAPLES Center president. "The access our luxury suite holders will have to the programming provided by DIRECTV will revolutionize the 'suite experience' we will be able to offer to our guests. No other arena in the world will be able to match the entertainment options that our fans will have through the technology that DIRECTV will provide." The sponsorship package includes: video displays in all three of the arena's entrance lobbies as well as an outdoor video display in the public plaza area; permanent signage visible in the area concourses and seating areas; promotional opportunities with the Los Angeles Kings; and presence on STAPLES Center's web site. DIRECTV will also have visibility on two 135-foot tall marquees located at the intersections of the 110 Freeway & Olympic Boulevard and the 10 Freeway & Figueroa Boulevard. DIRECTV, the nation's leading digital television entertainment service with more than 4.7 million subscribers, provides consumers with access to more than 185 channels of sports, entertainment, news, music and family programming. Since its launch more than four and a half years ago, DIRECTV has continuously added new services and channels as part of its commitment to enhance programming and set itself apart from cable and other satellite television services.
STAPLES Center will be the home of the Los Angeles Kings, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, an Arena Football League team, the 2000 Democratic National Convention, the 2002 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, nationally prominent entertainment spectaculars, concerts and family shows beginning when the arena opens in Fall 1999. Visit STAPLES Center today at www.staplescenterla.com Blackout restrictions and other conditions apply to sports programming. DIRECTV is a registered trademark of DIRECTV, Inc., a unit of Hughes Electronics Corporation. 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.
Michael Roth
Director of Communications
(213) 742-7155
Vanessa Kromer
Public Relations Manager
(213) 742-7156