Countersuit Filed in Satellite TV Dispute

Hughes Electronics Corp. and its DirecTV Inc. unit, the largest U.S. provider of satellite television, filed a countersuit against the National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative, escalating a dispute over programming sales rights. The companies are asking the California Superior Court in Los Angeles to rule that the NRTC is not entitled to market or bill for any of the programming DirecTV obtained in buying U.S. Satellite Broadcasting Co. in May. The cooperative filed a lawsuit Thursday saying it could sell U.S. Satellite programming under an agreement with Hughes to provide DirecTV’s service in rural areas. U.S. Satellite’s programming includes HBO, Showtime and other premium channels. “I don’t see this ever going to trial,” said Jimmy Schaeffler, chairman of the Carmel Group, a satellite-television industry research firm. He said the NRTC lawsuit most likely was filed to improve the group’s position in negotiations to sell the premium programming and determine how revenue will be split between it and DirecTV.

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