Shop At Home, Inc. Reaches Agreement With DIRECTV; Largest Distribution Increase In Shop At Home History
NASHVILLE, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 17, 2001--Shop At Home, Inc. (Nasdaq: SATH), a 15-year-old nationally televised home shopping service, announced today that it has reached an agreement with DIRECTV, Inc., provider of the nation's largest digital satellite entertainment service, to add Shop At Home to the DIRECTV(R) programming lineup. The agreement provides Shop At Home with access to more than 10 million full time households nationwide, reflecting the largest one-time distribution increase in Shop At Home history.
Shop At Home is projecting that the programming will be available to DIRECTV customers no later than October 31, 2001. Consequently, the agreement will increase Shop At Home's broadcast reach to approximately 73 million unique households and 40 million full time equivalent subscribers.
Under the agreement, Shop At Home programming will be accessible to DIRECTV customers on channel 234. With DIRECTV(R) programming, customers can receive access to more than 225 channels of digitally-delivered programming, including as many as 55 pay per view choices a day, a wide variety of professional and collegiate sports subscriptions, special events and 31 commercial-free audio channels.
"The addition of the Shop At Home Channel is a dynamic enhancement to DIRECTV's already robust programming lineup and enables us to broaden our product offering, giving customers a wider variety of quality programming," said Michael Thornton, senior vice president, Programming Acquisitions, DIRECTV, Inc.
"In the increasingly competitive home shopping industry, a strong distribution partner is critical. DIRECTV's expansive reach and reputation fit well with our aggressive business plans," said George R. Ditomassi and Frank A. Woods, Co-CEOs of Shop At Home. "Through this agreement, we will be able to reach a larger portion of our target market, while expanding into new market segments and geographical territories." |
