DIRECTV Announces Lineup For SXSW Live, The Only Live Television Broadcast From The Trendsetting Music Festival, Airing March 20

EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Mar 05, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) --
DTV | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- DIRECTV, the nation's leading satellite television provider, is heading
to Austin, Texas' trendsetting South by Southwest (SXSW) Music Festival
for a third year to bring DIRECTV customers SXSW Live, a live
television broadcast of the celebrated music event airing exclusively on
DIRECTV's original entertainment channel, The 101(R) Network.
The special, broadcasting live in HD and 5.1 surround sound, airs March
20-21 beginning at 5 p.m. EDT.

Hosts Matt Pinfield and Robin Dorian will take viewers through two full
days of festival coverage and live performances. Confirmed acts at press
time include The Airborne Toxic Event, Ben Harper and Relentless7,
Billy Bob Thornton and the Boxmasters, Carlene Carter, Ed Harcourt, Echo
and the Bunnymen, Forever The Sickest Kids, Juliette Lewis and the New
Romantiques, Lenka, The Oak Ridge Boys, The Proclaimers, Shiny Toy Guns,
Shwayze, Solange Presents Sol-Angel & The Hadley Street Dreams, Third
Eye Blind, Tinted Windows and The Von Bondies. Additional acts will
be announced in the coming weeks.

In addition to more than 16 live concert performances, the special will
also include backstage interviews with the industry's hottest
up-and-coming and established artists, behind-the-scenes coverage and
remote reporting from hot spots throughout the festival - all designed
to make viewers feel as if they are at the festival itself.

"For the third year in a row, DIRECTV customers will be able to
experience SXSW Live with a front-row seat and an exclusive look
into one of the premier music festivals in the world," said Eric Shanks,
executive vice president of Entertainment for DIRECTV. "Not only is this
larger-than-life television special another free perk that only DIRECTV
customers get to experience, there's the added enjoyment of seeing many
up-and-coming acts in their first television appearance ever before
taking the next step to stardom."

"We are thrilled to continue our annual partnership with DIRECTV for
this special live broadcast event," said Roland Swenson, managing
director of SXSW Festivals and Conferences. "Advancing our long
tradition of innovation, DIRECTV allows us to offer an amazing quantity
and quality of video and sound coverage on multiple platforms live from
our event. SXSW Live elevates our festival above and beyond the
expected, making the SXSW experience available to millions of people
around the world."

The broadcasts will originate from updated state-of-the-art venues
featuring The Bat Bar, a modern music club, and the traditional Lonestar
Lounge. Both venues have been constructed from the ground up in the
Austin Convention Center to host the exclusive SXSW Live
performances on DIRECTV.

Last year's show featured rising superstar Katy Perry, British hip-hop
sensation Dizzee Rascal, renowned producer/songwriter Daniel Lanois,
English popsters The Ting Tings and legendary Los Angeles punk
rockers X. The inaugural broadcast in 2007 included indie rockers The
Bravery, Swedish hipsters Peter, Bjorn & John, infamous
reggae and dub music pioneer Lee "Scratch" Perry and punk godfathers The
Buzzcocks.

SXSW Live is produced through a partnership with the SXSW Music
and Media Conference, Blaze TV (www.blaze.tv)
and DIRECTV. The show is created, produced and directed by Conor
McAnally.

Those without DIRECTV still have time to sign up for the nation's
leading satellite service in time to enjoy the special by calling
1-800-DIRECTV or visiting www.directv.com.

For more information on the SXSW Music Conference, please visit: http://2009.sxsw.com/music.
For more information on SXSW Live, please visit: www.sxswlive.com.

About DIRECTV, Inc.

DIRECTV, Inc. (NASDAQ:DTV),
the nation's leading satellite television service provider, presents the
finest television experience available to more than 17.6 million
customers in the United States and is leading the HD revolution with
more than 130 HD channels. Each day, DIRECTV subscribers enjoy access to
over 265 channels of 100% digital picture and sound, exclusive
programming, industry-leading customer satisfaction (which has surpassed
national cable companies for eight years running) and superior
technologies that include advanced DVR and HD-DVR services and the most
state-of-the-art interactive sports packages available anywhere. For the
most up-to-date information on DIRECTV, please visit directv.com.

About SXSW

South By Southwest (SXSW) Music and Media Conference, taking place March
18-22, 2009, features a legendary festival showcasing more than 1,800
musical acts of all genres from around the globe on over eighty stages
in downtown Austin. By day, the Austin Convention Center comes alive
with conference registrants doing business in the Trade Show and
partaking of a full agenda of informative, provocative panel discussions
featuring hundreds of speakers of international stature. In its 23rd
year, SXSW remains an essential event on the music industry calendar.
For more information, access our website at http://sxsw.com.

SOURCE: DIRECTV, Inc.

The Lippin Group 
Paki Newell, Lauren Kelcher 
323-965-1990 
pnewell@lippingroup.com 
lkelcher@lippingroup.com 
or 
DIRECTV 
Darris Gringeri 
212-205-0882 
dagringeri@directv.com

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