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To: DiViT who wrote (28173)	1/16/1998 12:42:00 PM
From: Stoctrash	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50808

Statement by Charlie Ergen, Chairman and CEO, EchoStar Communications Corp. and The Dish Network, In Support of Effective Competition in Video Markets The following is a statement by Charlie Ergen, Chairman and CEO, EchoStar Communications Corp. and The Dish Network: biz.yahoo.com ENGLEWOOD, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 15, 1998--EchoStar Communications Corporation is pleased with the recent NAB statement in support of the right of satellite carriers to deliver local channels to consumers by satellite. As the FCC noted in its Annual Report on Competition in Video Markets this week, delivery of local channels by satellite is critical to foster more effective alternatives. Competition to monopolistic cable operators is crucial to attempt to control rampant cable rate increases, often more than four times the rate of inflation in areas where competition does not exist. Based on consumer demand and the law today, EchoStar has invested over $500 million in satellites that will enable consumers to receive digital local programming by satellite, beginning this month in Washington, D.C., New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas and Boston. By mid-1998 EchoStar will provide local channels in twenty of the top markets in the United States thus reaching over 40 percent of U.S. Households. Current satellite technology does not permit the NAB ''must carry'' suggestion to be implemented. However, as technology improves, EchoStar intends to invest in additional satellites to deliver local signals in more markets, and covering a greater number of channels in each market. Of course, the ''must carry'' laws specifically apply only to cable and are not applicable to satellite, MMDS or other alternative means by which local network stations are broadcast because their penetration in households are a mere fraction of the monopoly share that the cable industry holds. The burden of ''must carry'' on innovative strategies such as EchoStar's DISH Network's Digital Local satellite broadcasting would stop this competitive force before it even gets started. However, when EchoStar's local market penetration approaches that of the local cable operator and technology permits, EchoStar would be pleased to submit to a technology-appropriate ''must carry.'' While this, and certain other conditions suggested by the NAB are impractical if the goal is to best serve the public interest and create more effective competition, we look forward to working with members of the NAB to carry the programming most requested by consumers. The Company is also pleased that the Commission, focusing on serving the American consumer, has called for an inquiry into cable rate increases and fair access to programming. We are confident that this will expose the cable industry's disingenuous argument that rising programming costs are beyond their control. The very same cable operators own the vast majority of the most popular cable networks. Taking this into account, recent exorbitant rate increases clearly indicate that cable operators are fleecing the American public. Fostering effective competition to cable by providing digital local signals by satellite is important to consumers across the country and must be recognized as one of our nations highest priorities. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Contact: