Cricket World Cup 2003 Available Exclusively On DISH Network Satellite TV in United States

Business Wire, Jan 8, 2003

Business Editors, Sports Writers

LITTLETON, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 8, 2003

DISH Network(TM)(NASDAQ: DISH), a leading direct broadcast satellite television provider, is pleased to announce that the Cricket World Cup 2003 will be available exclusively in the United States on DISH Network. All 54 games will be broadcast live on DISH Network from South Africa beginning on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2003, and ending on Sunday, March 23, 2003.

DISH Network customers can purchase the entire Cricket World Cup 2003 package for $299.95. The World Cup games will be available on DISH Network channels 457/471 and 458/472.

To order the Cricket World Cup 2003, call 1-800-333-DISH (3474). DISH Network commercial customers are also eligible to offer the Cricket World Cup 2003 to patrons. For more information on commercial eligibility, call 1-800-454-0843.

"The 2003 World Cup will be viewed by a world-wide audience in excess of 1 billion people," said Michael Schwimmer, senior vice president of Programming. "Our customers have enjoyed the cricket programming we have offered in the past, and we are excited to make this increasingly popular sporting event available to our 8 million customers nationwide. DISH Network is committed to serving the international community living within the United States with specialized international programming like the Cricket World Cup."

A team sport, cricket is played with two teams of 11 players each. A game of cricket can last anywhere from an afternoon to several days. Similar to baseball, teams bat in successive innings and attempt to score runs, while the opposing team fields and attempts to bring an end to the batting team's innings. The team with the most runs wins.

In 1912, the first attempt at a World Championship of cricket was held when a three-way series was arranged between Australia, England and South Africa. The experiment was dogged by poor weather and was not repeated until 1975 when England, Australia, New Zealand, West Indies, India and Pakistan were joined by Sri Lanka and East Africa in the first World Cup. Due to the success of the 1975 tournament, the World Cup has since taken place every four years.

"DISH Network will offer comprehensive coverage of this premier event to the many people from cricket playing nations living in the U.S.," said Ian Frykberg, Director of the Global Cricket Corporation. "The marketing expertise of DISH Network will ensure that more Americans than ever before will be aware of the World Cup, leading to increased interest of cricket throughout the U.S."

For more information on sublicensing rights, please contact EchoStar at 973-461-0861.

DISH Network is a trademark of EchoStar Communications Corporation. DISH Network is EchoStar's state-of-the-art direct broadcast satellite TV system that is capable of offering over 500 channels of digital video and CD-quality audio programming, as well as fully MPEG-2/DVB compliant hardware and installation. EchoStar is included in the Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) which contains the largest non-financial companies on the Nasdaq Stock Market. DISH Network serves 8 million customers. For further product information, visit www.dishnetwork.com.