DIRECTV Unveils All-Star Line Up of Artists for First-Ever Live Broadcast of South By Southwest, Exclusively on The 101

DIRECTV, the nation’s leading satellite television provider, announced today a star-studded line-up for SXSW Live, the first-ever 24-hour live broadcast from the celebrated South By Southwest (SXSW) music festival in Austin, TX. The special, airing March 15 through 17 exclusively on DIRECTV’s channel 101 (The 101), will be hosted by Abbey Gennet, lead singer of Slunt, along with MTV VJ Matt Pinfield, and features performances by Rachel Fuller, Aqualung, Bowling for Soup, The Bravery, and many more. SXSW Live will be the biggest live music event to air on national television since the LIVE 8 concert, and DIRECTV has dedicated resources to ensure that those in the audience, as well as at home, will get to take part in all the action. The live performances will feature a mix of 24 of the hottest bands and up-and-coming artists including Annuals, Polyphonic Spree, Brandi Carlile, Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly., Ian Moore, Jon McLaughlin, Marc Broussard, Ozomatli, Razorlight, Rocco DeLuca, The Buzzcocks, Stars of Track and Field, Tiny Masters of Today, Lee "Scratch” Perry, Young Love, Tracy Lawrence, Rickie Lee Jones and Pam Tillis. In addition to the live performances, those watching SXSW Live from the comfort of their homes will have unprecedented access to behind-the-scenes footage, artist interviews and insider festival commentary delivered by Project MyWorld’s Shaina Fewell, and musician Andrew W.K. These segments will include interviews with artists and industry experts such as Keynote speaker Pete Townshend of The Who, Lollapalooza creator Perry Farrell of Jane’s Addiction, Iggy Pop and The Stooges as well as an interview with the legendary Robyn Hitchcock. Todd Martens (Editor-in-Chief of Billboard), Mark Redfern (Senior Editor of Under The Radar), Rob Stevenson (A&R Island Def Jam), Doug Brod (Spin magazine), and record producer Howard Benson will also appear. Throughout DIRECTV’s exclusive SXSW coverage, an interactive feature will be available to viewers at the press of a button, providing essential band information, including genre, hometown, makeup, and history. For new and upcoming bands, the interactive application is a great way to plan out their viewing to get the most of the festival. Those lucky enough to attend the prestigious music festival will experience the entire SXSW Live performance series at two new state-of-the-art venues, The Lone Star Lounge, with a traditional Texas feel, and modern music club, The Bat Bar. Both venues have been constructed from the ground up in the Austin Convention Center to host the exclusive SXSW Live performances. SXSW Live is part of DIRECTV’s ongoing effort to provide fresh new music on The 101 to their 16 million subscribers. The special is produced through partnership with the SXSW Music and Media Conference, Blaze TV (CDUK, CDUSA) and DIRECTV and created by Blaze TV’s producer/director Conor McAnally. For more information on SXSW visit: http://2007.sxsw.com/music. For more information on DIRECTV visit: http://www.DIRECTV.com. For more information on SXSW Live visit: www.sxswlive.com. About DIRECTV: DIRECTV, Inc., the nation’s leading satellite television service provider, presents the finest television experience available to more than 16 million customers in the United States, through exclusive content, industry-leading customer service (which has surpassed cable for six years running) and superior technologies. Each day, DIRECTV subscribers enjoy over 250 channels of 100% digital picture and sound; exclusive programming and the most comprehensive collection of sports programming available anywhere including NFL SUNDAY TICKET™, and MLB EXTRA INNINGS™. DIRECTV (NYSE:DTV) also leads the digital television technology revolution with exclusives such as NFL SUNDAY TICKET SuperFan™, US Open Interactive and YES Network Interactive and will soon have the capacity to offer over 150 channels in HD. For the most up-to-date information on the Company, please visit directv.com.