DIRECTV to Offer Local Channels in Topeka, Kan.

Market is Scheduled for Launch by Year End

EL SEGUNDO, CA, July 31, 2003 - DIRECTV, Inc, the nation's leading digital multichannel television service provider, announced today it will offer local channels to its customers in Topeka, Kan., later this year.

Topeka will be among the more than 100 markets - representing 84 percent of U.S. television households - that will receive their local channels via DIRECTV by year end.

Now offering local channels in 64 markets, representing more than 72 percent of U.S. television households, DIRECTV will add an additional 38 local channel markets following the launch of the DIRECTV 7S satellite in the fourth quarter of this year. DIRECTV continues to evaluate plans to add more markets in 2004.

"In the 64 markets where we offer local channels, more than 90 percent of our new customers purchase the DIRECTV local channel package, proving that this offer continues to be a powerful drawing card for consumers who are looking for an alternative to their local cable provider," said Roxanne Austin, president and COO of DIRECTV, Inc. "We look forward to providing Topeka's DIRECTV customers with a complete package of local news, weather and sports along with access to more than 225 digital-quality channels at an affordable price."

Earlier this year, DIRECTV announced it would launch local broadcast channel service in up to 50 additional markets in 2003. Among those launched this year are Richmond, Va.; Colorado Springs, Colo.; Jackson, Miss.; Green Bay, Wis.; Roanoke, Va.; Wilkes-Barre, Pa.; Des Moines, Iowa; Louisville, Ky.; Tucson, Ariz.; Shreveport, La., Columbus, Miss.; Columbia, S.C. and Huntsville, Ala., which launched today.

As with all existing local channels markets, DIRECTV will deliver all local broadcast channels in the new markets to a single, small satellite dish.

DIRECTV is the nation's leading digital multichannel television service provider with more than 11.5 million customers. DIRECTV and the Cyclone Design logo are registered trademarks of DIRECTV, Inc., a unit of Hughes Electronics Corp. HUGHES is the world's leading provider of digital television entertainment, broadband services, satellite-based private business networks, and global video and data broadcasting. The earnings of HUGHES, a unit of General Motors Corporation, are used to calculate the earnings attributable to the General Motors Class H common stock (NYSE: GMH).

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