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DirecTV, networks settle
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March 12, 1999: 10:15 a.m. ET
Agreement reached in dispute over distribution to out-of-market viewers
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - DirecTV, the satellite distributor of TV programs to consumers, said Friday it reached agreement with the four major broadcast networks in a dispute over distribution of their programs.
The agreement resolves a lawsuit filed in Miami by ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and their affiliates.
The settlement between El Segundo, Calif.-based DirecTV and the National Association of Broadcasters, which represents the networks and their affiliates, gradually will disconnect customers who have been deemed to be ineligible to receive the network signals. The eligibility will be determined by a model recommended last month by the Federal Communications Commission.
Under FCC rules, customers can receive broadcast networks via satellite only if there's no affiliate of the network within a certain radius of their homes.
Ineligible customers receiving signals of grade A intensity will be disconnected from the broadcast networks June 30. Those receiving signals of grade B intensity will be disconnected Dec. 31.
DirecTV said subscribers who obtain the permission of affiliate stations to receive the broadcast signals won't lose reception of distant signals. Those who will lose them will receive a letter of notification and information on how to acquire an off-air antenna to receive the local signal.
DirecTV is a unit of Hughes Electronics, which in turn is a separately traded unit of General Motors (GM). GM Hughes (GMH) stock is up ¼ to 48-1/4 in early Friday trading. 
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