- - - DBS Powerhouse Has Record April - - -

DirecTV announced Wednesday that it added 142,000 new subscribers last month, a number that is 84 percent higher than subscriber counts for April 1998.

Through the first four months of 1999, DirecTV reports its subscriber growth is up 47 percent over the same period a year ago.

The company's net subscriber growth for April does not include subscribers gained from the DirecTV/Primestar merger last month. The addition of DirecTV's April subscribers pushes the number of total subscribers to nearly 4.9 million. That number combined with Primestar subscribers equals more than 7 million.

"We enjoyed a record first quarter this year," said DirecTV's President Eddy Hartenstein.

- - - DirecTV To Remain "TV Centric" - - -

Although DirecTV has made moves into the emerging interactive market, President Eddy Hartenstein promised that the service will remain "TV centric."

That focus on television could include future Ka-Band spectrum, Hartenstein said during the final day of the DBS Summit in Denver. During his appearance, Hartenstein added that new boxes offering interactive capabilities through a deal with America Online could be rolling out by January.

Local-into-local offerings could be made available to subscribers in New York and Los Angeles "as soon as the ink dries" on legislation permitting the broadcasts, Hartenstein said. Other markets will closely follow.

Hartenstein also boasted about DirecTV's subscriber additions for April, which totaled 142,000, and pointed out that the service is now in one of every 14 TV households in the United States.

- - - Lockheed Martin Steps Up Comsat Buy - - -

Lockheed Martin reportedly wrapped up an antitrust agreement with the Department of Justice that could help the company move ahead with its proposed $3.2 billion acquisition of Comsat.

Provisions include requiring Lockheed Martin to sell its 14 percent stake in Loral Space & Communications, according to Bloomberg and statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Lockheed Martin has said in the past that the sale of Loral shares could help it raise money for the Comsat acquisition.

The company said in the SEC filing that it has negotiated terms with the government "which could form the basis of a consent order that would resolve" an antitrust review. The agreement is not yet final, Lockheed's filing said.

The acquisition of Comsat could help Lockheed Martin become a serious player in the commercial satellite business.

- - - NOTE: SkyREPORT Numbers Incomplete - - -

It has come to our attention that a chart on page five of the May 1999 printed edition of SkyREPORT contains incomplete subscriber demographic numbers. The numbers as they are printed could easily be misinterpreted. Please look to next month's edition of SkyREPORT for an updated chart. We apologize for the misunderstanding.

- - - INTL: - - -

• DISH Network Offers 1999 Cricket World Cup -
  EchoStar will offer the 1999 Cricket World Cup. The live tournament, which starts on May 14, will be offered on DISH-On-Demand Pay-Per-View. The full-access package entitles customers to receive all 42 matches of the Cricket World Cup for $274.95 until May 14 and $299.95 on or after May 15. Customers may also choose scaled-back packages starting at $129.95 or order single matches.

• Panasonic Launches SkyDigital iDTV -
  Panasonic and SkyDigital are launching the world's first television that includes both digital satellite and digital terrestrial integrated tuners. It's called the iDTV and will allow viewers to access both digital terrestrial and digital satellite channels without a set-top box. It will also be capable of receiving all free-to-air channels available across both platforms, including the BBC channels. The iDTV is expected to be on the market early next year.

  Ian West, managing director of Sky Entertainment, said, "This product is a major breakthrough and sets a benchmark in the history of integrated television in the UK. Viewers can now get the best of SkyDigital, the terrestrial free-to-air channels and interactive services in just one unit."

  In a related story, British Sky Broadcasting and SCM have entered into a development agreement for digital TV sidecar modules, which these customer also won't need separate set-top boxes for satellite and terrestrial television. The project, initiated and funded by BSkyB, started in May 1998 when Britain's Independent Television Commission (ITC) called for interoperability between the different digital TV services to be offered to viewers.