DISH Network Satellite TV Adds Korea's Arirang TV to International Channel Lineup

LITTLETON, Colo., Oct 15, 2001 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- DISH Network™(NASDAQ: DISH), the fastest-growing U.S. direct broadcast satellite television company, announced that it will be offering Arirang TV, the only English-language Korean channel, to consumers in the United States on DISH Network channel 653 starting Thursday, Oct. 18. Arirang TV is available a la carte for the monthly price of $14.99.

DISH Network is the first to offer Arirang TV nationwide, which broadcasts live from Korea 24 hours a day. Arirang TV showcases entertaining and informative programs for viewers of every age and background, featuring news, sitcoms, dramas, quiz shows, financial updates, music, documentaries, and Korea's latest box office releases (sub-titled in English and Spanish).

Arirang TV, owned by The Korea International Broadcasting Foundation, launched in 1999 and now reaches more than 40 million households in Asia-Pacific and Europe as well as North and South America.

"Arirang TV provides immediate access for our DISH Network customers to Korean news and culture," said Michael Schwimmer, vice president of Programming at DISH Network. "DISH Network now offers news from halfway around the world to the more than 2 million Korean Americans as well as non-Koreans living in the U.S."

"Our programming targets not only first- and second-generation Koreans living in the United States but also non-Koreans who are interested in Korea," said Nicolas Hong with Arirang TV's Distribution and Marketing. "We realize that this is a great opportunity for many Korean Americans to stay in touch with current events in Korea as well as to introduce their children to the cultural riches of Korea. Also, with the popularity that Arirang TV has received from Asia-pacific and Europe, we have no doubt that Arirang TV will capture the hearts of non-Koreans in the U.S in no time."

Arirang TV features a variety of programming, including Korea's hottest pop music on Pops In Seoul; the most beloved dramas of Korea such as "All about Eve," "Memories," and "Burning Dawn;" health programs like Discovery of Eastern Medicine; Arirang News for the latest political, business, cultural news; and Korea This Week, which offers in-depth analysis of the issues and events of the past week. The channel is broadcast in both English and Korean, with many Korean-language programs broadcast with English subtitles.

DISH Network is the leader in offering foreign language programming with more than 30 channels catering to languages from around the world, including Arabic, Greek, Russian, Japanese and more. Arirang TV is available from the 61.5 degrees West Longitude and 148 degrees W.L. orbital locations. For more information or to order Arirang TV, call 1-800-333-DISH (3474) or 1-888-327-4253 (Korean), visit www.dishnetwork.com, or call your local DISH Network retailer.

About Arirang TV

The Korea International Broadcasting Foundation is comprised of economic organizations, including the Korea Broadcasting Advertisement Corporation, the Korea Chamber of Commerce & Industry and the Korea International Trade Association. Arirang TV has a mission of introducing Korea to every corner of the world by providing entertaining and informative programs using English as its main language. For more information, call +82-2-3475-5348 or visit www.arirangtv.com.

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 currently serves over 6 million U.S. customers.

CONTACT: EchoStar Communications Corp. Marc Lumpkin, 303/723-2020 [email protected] URL: http://www.businesswire.com Today's News On The Net - Business Wire's full file on the Internet with Hyperlinks to your home page.