EchoStar Acquires Exclusive Rights to ICC 2003 in North, Central and South America

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

United States DBS Operator to Broadcast 54 Live World Cup Matches in the United States and Distribute Rights for North, Central and

South America

EchoStar Communications Corporation (NASDAQ: DISH) announced today that it has acquired exclusive television, radio and internet distribution rights for the International Cricket Counsel (ICC) for North, Central and South America. The 2003 Cricket World Cup will be viewed by a world-wide audience expected to be in excess of 1 billion people.

EchoStar has the exclusive rights to distribute through sub-licensees in the following territories: the United States, its territories and possessions; Canada; Mexico; all countries of Central and South America, and all Caribbean Nations, including Antigua, Barbadoes, Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Trinidad, Tobago and the United States Virgin Islands. EchoStar's DISH Network will exclusively broadcast the World Cup in the United States.

"The Cricket World Cup is an important and popular international event which is closely followed by people who reside within the cricketing nations, as well as expatriates living abroad," said Michael Schwimmer, senior vice president of Programming. "EchoStar is pleased to be involved in the distribution of the Cricket World Cup into territories located outside of DISH Network's broadcast area, including Canada, the Caribbean, and Central and South America."

"The sale of the rights of the ICC Cricket World Cup to EchoStar is a significant step in the development of cricket worldwide," said Ian Frykberg, Director of the Global Cricket Council. "The agreement between the Global Cricket Council and EchoStar is significant for the event sponsors whose financial support will ensure the 2003 event will be the most successful to date."

Live coverage of the 54 match tournament will be kicked off with a two-hour opening ceremony from in South on Feb. 8, 2003, and will conclude with a closing ceremony honoring the world champions immediately after the final match from in on March 23, 2003.

This 2003 Cricket World Cup will include the national teams of Australia, Canada, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, India, West Indies, New Zealand, England, , Bangladesh, , , Netherlands and host . Other broadcasters include, Rupavhini in Sri Lanka, Sky Sports in the United Kingdom, Pakistan TV in Pakistan, SABC in South Africa, BTV in Bangladesh, Sky Sports in New Zealand, Fox Sports in Australia and Sony Max in India.

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.

About ICC/IDI

The International Cricket Council (ICC) represents all cricket playing nations around the world. Its primary role is to administer the game and oversee its development and expansion. The ICC organizes various events each year under its banner. The premier event is the ICC World Cup which is held every four years. In addition there is the Under 19 World Cup (held every two years), the ICC Champions Trophy (every two years) and the ICC Trophy.

About the 2003 World Cup of Cricket The ICC World Cup features teams from all 10 major cricket playing nations plus Kenya (which has been given International One Day status) plus the top three teams from the "associate" countries (those who do not have full status). These teams qualify through the ICC Trophy tournament. The World Cup was first held in the UK in 1975. In the ensuing years it has been held in Australia and countries on the sub continent. The 2003 World Cup of Cricket will be held in South Africa for the first time starting in February this year. The tournament will consist of 54 games.

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CONTACT: EchoStar Communications Corporation Marc Lumpkin, 303/723-2020 [email protected]