TOP INDUSTRY EXECUTIVES TO PARTICIPATE IN SBCA’S FALL 2003 SKYFORUM IN NEW YORK

Dolan, Ergen, Hartenstein, & Olmstead Slated For Mix of Presentations & Interviews

ALEXANDRIA, Va., September 18, 2003 – The Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association announced today that its fall 2003 SkyFORUM, the satellite services industry’s premier financial symposium, will feature the top executives from leading satellite and multichannel telecommunications companies in the U.S., including Charles Dolan of Cablevision Systems Corp., Charles Ergen of EchoStar Communications Corp., Eddy Hartenstein of DIRECTV, Inc., and Dean Olmstead of SES AMERICOM. This season’s program will be held on Thursday, October 30 from 7:30 a.m. to 4:40 p.m. at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City.

The bi-annual SkyFORUM, hosted by SBCA and its SkyTRENDS Partners, brings together Wall Street’s analyst and investment communities with the leaders of the satellite, multichannel and telecom industries to discuss topical issues and upcoming trends.

Predictions of continued growth in the direct broadcast satellite (DBS) television industry are keeping the leading providers busy, but are also capturing the interest of companies not traditionally associated with the business. The top executives speaking at the fall SkyFORUM will shed light on where the industry is going and what technologies and applications consumers can expect in the next year.  

After an early morning presentation of SBCA’s new competitive markets report, Dolan, founder and chairman of Cablevision Systems Corporation, will participate in an on-stage executive interview from 9:00-9:20 a.m. This past July, Cablevision’s Rainbow DBS service launched its satellite from Cape Canaveral, Fla. with plans to provide commercial programming.

Later in the morning, Ergen, chairman and CEO of EchoStar Communications Corporation, will give an executive presentation scheduled to run from 9:55-10:40 am. Ergen founded the Littleton, Colo.-based company in 1980 as a C-band retailer, and today EchoStar’s DISH Network provides satellite television entertainment services to 9 million subscribers. EchoStar recently launched an advanced satellite with a commercial Ka-band frequency over North America for high-speed data services.

Olmstead’s executive interview is scheduled for 10:55-11:15 a.m. As the president and CEO of SES AMERICOM, he heads a global satellite communications company currently operating 16 spacecraft in orbital positions delivering services that serve throughout the Americas, Europe, and Asia. Olmstead has been involved with the satellite industry for almost two decades.

Hartenstein’s executive interview will be featured from 4:00-4:35 p.m. Heading DIRECTV, Inc. since its inception in 1990, Hartenstein is currently responsible for strategic planning of DIRECTV and DIRECTV Latin America. DIRECTV currently has 11.56 million subscribers to its all-digital service. Hartenstein is currently serving his second term as chairman of the SBCA. 

“Once again, we are pleased to bring high caliber executive participation to the SkyFORUM stage,” said Clay Mowry, president of Arianespace, Inc. and SkyTRENDS chair.  “The diversity of marketplace perspectives represented in this fall’s program is sure to set the stage for in-depth, candid discussions on the state of our industry now and in the future.”

The SkyFORUM fall program will also include live demonstrations of emerging consumer product and services technologies and panel discussions on important industry topics.

SkyFORUM was developed to create a higher awareness of the satellite industry among the financial and investment communities, and the media. SkyTRENDS is the SBCA’s market research, data collection and reporting program for the satellite services industry. SkyTRENDS is a committee of the SBCA and is directed by SBCA’s SkyTRENDS partners with assistance from Media Business Corp. 

The Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association is the national trade organization representing all segments of the satellite industry.  It is committed to expanding the utilization of satellite technology for the broadcast delivery of video, audio, data, music, voice, interactive, and broadband services.  The SBCA is comprised of DBS, C-band, broadband, satellite radio, and other satellite service providers, content providers, equipment manufacturers, distributors, retailers, encryption vendors, and national and regional distribution companies that make up the satellite services industry. SBCA oversees the industry’s National Standards and Testing Program (NSTP), a self-regulating training and testing curriculum for installation professionals. Additional information can be found at www.sbca.com.