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DISH Network to Launch New 20-Channel Spanish Package

LITTLETON, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 19, 1999-- DISH Network Provides Most Comprehensive TV Package to U.S. Spanish-Speaking Customers

EchoStar Communications Corp. (NASDAQ: DISH, DISHP) is pleased to announce that DISH Network™ will launch the most complete Spanish-language television and audio programming package ever offered in the United States. DISH Network's Spanish-Language Package, to debut Aug. 3, 1999, will offer 20 channels of Spanish-language television and audio programming from Latin America and Spain.

Already a leading provider of Spanish-language TV programming, DISH Network is proud to be the first satellite television provider to offer the fast-growing U.S. Spanish-speaking audience with the most extensive selection of news, sports movies, music and other entertainment.

"The U.S. Hispanic population is over 31 million and growing, yet this community has been largely disregarded by a majority of television providers," said Michael Schwimmer, vice president of Programming at EchoStar. "DISH Network has made a point to bring the entire U.S. Spanish-speaking audience the most diverse television programming that complements every area of interest. No other television programming provider offers the extensive lineup of Spanish-language programs as DISH Network."

DISH Network's Spanish Language Package will be available on EchoStar's new DISH 500 satellite dish system or by pointing two satellite dishes at EchoStar satellites located at 119 degrees West Longitude and 110 degrees W.L. orbital locations. Customers can order the package for only $19.99 a month or $239.88 annually.

Some of the many channels featured in DISH Network's Spanish Language Package include:

-    Telemundo - A full-service Spanish-language network featuring
     novellas (soap operas), movies, news, sports, children's
     programming, talk shows, specials and music videos.



-    FOX Sports Americas - The first 24-hour Latin American
     Spanish-language sports network providing coverage of a multitude
     of international sporting events such as soccer, basketball,
     tennis, cycling, wrestling, volleyball and rugby.



-    Discovery en Espanol - Discovery en Espanol offers Spanish
     speaking audiences of all ages the very best in nonfiction
     entertainment including nature, science and technology, history
     and world exploration. Like its sister networks, Discovery en
     Espanol aims to educate, inform and entertain viewer with quality
     programming designed to help them explore their world and satisfy
     their natural curiosity.



-    GEMS - The only 24-hour international Spanish-language TV network
     specifically designed for Hispanic women's interests and
     families. Programming includes a unique mix of drama, variety,
     movies and novellas.



-    Cine Latino - Cine Latino offers 100-percent Spanish-language
     movies with the best contemporary productions from Latin America
     and Spain.



-    CBS TeleNoticias - This 24-hour-a-day news network provides world
     and regional news by Spanish and Portuguese-speaking journalists.
     Programming includes international news coverage, worldwide
     business and financial news, lifestyle and entertainment news,
     and weather updates.



-    GRAN CANAL LATINO - With more than 400 premieres each year, Gran
     Canal Latino presents great Latin cinema created in the Spanish
     language. Programming includes musicals, dramas, comedies and
     classics.



-    SUR - SUR retransmits the daily newscasts and most popular shows
     live from the leading Latin American broadcast networks. Programs
     are broadcast from Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Brazil, Peru,
     Ecuador, Columbia, Venezuela, Panama, Dominican Republic, Puerto
     Rico and Mexico. Newscasts from Nicaragua, El Salvador,
     Guatemala, Costa Rica and Honduras are scheduled for the future.



-    TV Chile - A 24-hour-a-day network offering news, telenovelas,
     sports and nature documentaries. With 90 percent of its
     programming from Chile, TV Chile also broadcasts weekly games and
     championships of professional Chilean soccer.



-    HTV - A 24-hour all-Spanish language television music network
     providing a mix of old and new hit music videos. Its format
     includes balada, salsa, merengue and other popular Latin rhythms,
     introduced by the artists themselves in place of vee jays.



-    Playboy en Espanol - Playboy will offer its popular adult
     programming with a Latin  accent. (Available upon request)



-    DISH CD Latin - Six channels of CD-quality Latin variety music,
     including Latino Styles, Miami Mix, Tejana, Viva Mariachi, Fiesta
     Mexicana and Latino Pop.

DISH Network also offers Univision and Galavision in DISH Network's America's Top-100 CD programming package and provides a Spanish Language Audio Option free of charge for subscribers to the regular services of HBO, Cinemax, Showtime, the Cartoon Network and most DISH-On-Demand Pay-Per-View movies.

For more information or to order, visit your nearest DISH Network retailer or call 1-800/333-DISH (3474).

EchoStar Communications Corp., includes three interrelated business units:

-    DISH Network™ is EchoStar's state-of-the-art DBS system that
     offers customers over 300 channels of digital video and
     CD-quality audio programming, fully MPEG-2/DVB compliant hardware
     and installation.



-    EchoStar Technologies Corporation designs, manufactures and
     distributes DBS set-top boxes, antennas and other digital
     equipment for the DISH Network and various international
     customers that include ExpressVu Canada and Telefonica's Via
     Digital system in Spain. ETC also provides uplink center design,
     construction oversight and project integration services for
     customers internationally. ETC also oversees EchoStar Data
     Networks Corporation in Atlanta, a leading supplier of
     MediaStream® technology for distributing Internet content over
     satellite networks.



-    Satellite Services provides the delivery of video, audio and data
     services to business television customers and other satellite
     users. These services include satellite uplink, satellite
     transponder space usage, and other services. Satellite Services
     also administers SKY VISTA, a direct broadcast satellite service
     offering over 27 channels of popular digital satellite television
     programming to viewers in Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the
     U.S. territories in the Caribbean.



-    DISH Network currently serves approximately 2.6 million
     customers. DISH Network is a trademark of EchoStar Communications
     Corporation. DISH Network is located on the Internet at:
     

     --30--SAM/dx*



     CONTACT:  EchoStar Communications Corp., Littleton 
               Judianne Atencio                            
               Communications Director                             
               303/723-2010                       
               judianne.atencio@echostar.com      
                         or
               Marc Lumpkin                              
               Communications Manager           
               303/723-2020     
               marc.lumpkin@echostar.com



     

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