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Thomson tunes in DirecTV
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August 4, 1998: 11:01 a.m. ET
Companies to jointly develop and promote digital TV services
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - DirecTV Inc. and Thomson Multimedia said Tuesday they have agreed to jointly develop and distribute advanced digital television services.
Under the agreement, Thomson, one of the world's largest television-set makers, will integrate DirecTV reception into its digital TVs. DirecTV is a 185-channel satellite-based digital television service with 3.8 million subscribers in the United States.
The agreement also calls for the two companies to develop and distribute advanced direct broadcast satellite (DBS) receivers.
DirecTV is a unit of Hughes Electronics Corp. The companies expect that Hughes, through DirecTV, will take a minority interest in Thomson Multimedia and occupy one seat on its board of directors.
Thomson Multimedia is a subsidiary of French electronics giant Thomson S.A.
DirecTV and Thomson said they plan to develop products and services to accelerate consumer acceptance of digital television. The companies said they will work with television networks and local channel broadcasters during their transition to digital television.
The companies also said they will co-develop advanced products and delivery systems that will support such services as Webcasting, software downloads and Internet access.
Last week, Thomson said it would integrate Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT) Windows CE operating system in its interactive TVs to develop and promote "enhanced" television sets, which would include electronic program guides. 
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DirecTV
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