EchoStar and Asia Satellite Telecommunications announce the formation of a joint venture for the delivery of a direct-to-home satellite television service to Taiwan and other targeted regions in Asia. The satellite TV service will broadcast from AsiaSat 4, providing a wide variety of audio and video channels in an all digital format distributed directly to consumer homes via a small satellite antenna and a digital set-top box.

EchoStar is leveraging its DTH operations expertise and award-winning set-top box technology to deliver superior television to Asian viewers.

AsiaSat, Asia's premier satellite operator with 20 years of marketing and operational excellence, is the owner and operator of the AsiaSat 4 satellite with a Broadcast Satellite Service payload that enables viewers to receive the DTH offerings using satellite antennas as small as 30 cm in diameter.

Under the joint venture agreement, EchoStar, a leading provider of DTH services and satellite TV equipment in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Europe, including to the world's second largest DTH operator, is contributing its operational expertise and digital satellite TV equipment to the joint venture. AsiaSat, an award-winning market leader in Asian satellite services, is providing satellite capacity for the DTH satellite TV platform.

The service is expected to be available to consumers in the second half of 2009. Announcements on programming packages, equipment availability and targeted territories will be made in the coming months.