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Encore HD to Debut March 22 On Nation's Largest High-Definition Neighborhood On PanAmSat's Galaxy 13 Encore HD Joins STARZ! HD, Cinemax HD, TNT HD, HBO HD, HDNet and HDNet Movies on One of the Industry's Most Coveted Satellites WILTON, Conn., March 9/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- PanAmSat Corporation today announced that Starz Encore Group (Starz) signed a 15-year transponder deal for satellite delivery of its newly announced Encore HD Hi-Def premium movie channel on Galaxy 13/Horizons-1. Galaxy 13 is the home of the industry's first high-definition television (HDTV) neighborhood featuring leading cablecasters Cinemax HD, HBO HDTV, HDNet, HDNet Movies, Wealth TV, STARZ! HD and TNT HD. "Encore HD is a stellar addition to our neighborhood, adding even more value to cable operators who want to turn to one satellite for their HD entertainment fare," said Mike Antonovich, Senior Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing, PanAmSat. "Specially designed to support HD transmissions, Galaxy 13 has double the power of its predecessor to deliver high quality television across North America. It's no wonder that Galaxy 13 has become the satellite of choice for America's leading HD programmers." Encore HD will have first-run and recent big hit movies,plus great films viewers know and love, uncut and commercial free, 24 hours a day. The network focuses on high-quality movies that received box office success or critical acclaim and included notable stars and/or directors. Additionally, Encore HD features star interviews, movie trivia between films, Encore original series geared towards movie lovers, such as "The Directors" monthly series, upcoming original documentaries, "The Cutting Edge: The Magic Of Movie Editing," and "Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade," and "CineNews," the original weekly show about the movie business. Encore HD will include a selection of films available in 1080i format with other films up-converted to approximate the full Hi-Def experience. Sample Encore HD movies that will be seen in 1080i Hi-Def over the first several days after the service is launched include Blade II, I Am Sam, A Nightmare On Elm Street, Phenomenon, and Taxi Driver. "PanAmSat's Galaxy 13 gives Encore HD the thorough one-of-a-kindpenetration that we coveted for our new high-definition offering," said John Beyler, Starz' Senior Vice President of Technology Operations. "With its quality commercial-free movie programming and easy access on Galaxy 13, Encore HD is a perfect addition to any cable lineup." Located at 127 degrees west longitude in the U.S. cable arc, Galaxy 13 is part of PanAmSat's "Power of Five" antenna program, which provides qualified cable operators with simultaneous access to five Galaxy neighborhood satellites. It is also one of the industry's most advanced satellites and the first of three HD satellites that PanAmSat will deploy above the U.S. by mid- 2005. In addition to its roster of HD programmers, Galaxy 13 also includes some of the industry's premier video broadcasters such as Charter Communications, E! and the Starz thematic channels. About Starz Starz is the largest provider of premium movie services in the United States with approximately 144 million pay units. Starz offerings include the Starz Super Pak(R), with up to 13 digital movie channels and more than 750 movies per month, Starz On Demand(R), the only on-demand pay TV subscription service available on cable, satellite, and broadband platforms, and a suite of advanced video offerings, including STARZ! HD(SM), STARZ! Hi Res(SM), and Starz On Demand HD(SM). Starz is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Liberty Media Corporation (NYSE:LNYSE:LMCb), http://www.starz.com/. About PanAmSat PanAmSat Corporation (NASDAQ:SPOT) is one of the world's top three satellite operators managing a global fleet of 30 satellites, 25 of which are wholly-owned by the Company, for the delivery of news, sports and other television programming. In total, this fleet is capable of reaching more than 98 percent of the world's population through cable television systems, broadcast affiliates, direct-to-home operators, Internet service providers and telecommunications companies. In addition, PanAmSat supports the largest concentration of satellite-based business networks in the US, as well as specialized communications services in remote areas throughout the world. PanAmSat is 81 percent owned by HUGHES Electronics Corporation. For more information, visit the company's web site at http://www.panamsat.com/. About HUGHES Hughes Electronics Corporation is a world-leading provider of digital multichannel television entertainment, broadband satellite networks and services, and global video and data broadcasting. Hughes is 34 percent owned by Fox Entertainment Group, which is approximately 82 percent owned by News Corporation Ltd. DATASOURCE: PanAmSat Corporation CONTACT: Kathryn Lancioni of PanAmSat Corporation, +1-646-293-7415, ; Eric Becker of Starz Encore Group, +1-720-852-4065, Web site: http://www.panamsat.com/ http://www.starz.com/

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