THE WEATHER CHANNEL’S DECKER ANSTROM TO GIVE LUNCHEON ADDRESS AT SkyFORUM SATELLITE SYMPOSIUM SEPT. 16 IN NEW YORK

ALEXANDRIA, VA, August 18, 1999 - The Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association (SBCA) and SkyTRENDS today announced that Decker Anstrom, president and chief executive officer of The Weather Channel, will give the luncheon address at the 12th semi-annual SkyFORUM satellite/ financial symposium, to be held Thursday, September 16 at the Marriott Marquis in New York City. Mr. Anstrom will deliver his speech at 2 p.m.

"Decker Anstrom has been a leader in the cable television industry for over a decade," noted SkyTRENDs Chair Christine Sheehan, senior vice president, MTV Networks. "Having recently stepped into his role as top executive for The Weather Channel, Mr. Anstrom can offer satellite analysts, professionals and media a fresh perspective on the satellite broadcasting industry. We are pleased to welcome him to our event."

Prior to joining The Weather Channel this month, Mr. Anstrom was president and chief executive officer of the National Cable Television Association. With NCTA since November 1987, he served as executive vice president until becoming president and CEO in January 1994. Earlier, Mr. Anstrom was president of Public Strategies, a Washington, DC – based public policy consulting firm. He has also served as assistant director of the White House Office of Presidential Personnel and as a senior staff member at the Office of Management and Budget, Executive Office of the President.

Mr. Anstrom is an alumnus of Macalester College and attended the Woodrow Wilson Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University.

The semi-annual SkyFORUM satellite/ financial symposium will be held Thursday, Sept. 16 at the Marriott Marquis in New York City. The program runs from 9:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. and includes one-on-one interviews with satellite industry executives: Charlie Ergen, chairman and CEO, EchoStar Communications Corp.; Eddy Hartenstein, president, DIRECTV; Mark Pagon, president, chairman and CEO, Pegasus Communications Corp.; Bob Phillips, CEO, National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative (NRTC); and Rodney Weary, president, Golden Sky Systems, Inc., along with panel discussions focusing on the multiple dwelling unit (MDU) market, finance and interactive services. For more information or to register, please visit www.sbca.com or contact Carrie Jolly, SBCA, at 703-549-6990 ext. 364 or cjolly@satellite.org. Media seeking SkyFORUM press credentials should contact Jennifer Buckley at 703-549-6990 ext. 351 or jbuckley@satellite.org.

SkyTRENDS is the market research, data collection and reporting program for the home satellite industry. This program is independently run by Media Business Corp in conjunction with the SBCA. Focusing on "Doing Business in the Sky," SkyFORUM was developed to create a higher awareness of the satellite industry among the financial and investment communities, and the media.

The Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association of America (SBCA) is the national trade organization representing all segments of the home satellite industry. It is committed to expanding the utilization of satellite technology for the broadcast delivery of entertainment, news, information and educational programming. The SBCA is composed of DBS service providers, programmers, equipment manufacturers, distributors, retailers, encryption vendors, and national and regional distribution companies.