DIRECTV Names Top NFL 'Displaced Fan' Cities in America and Launches National Search for the Ultimate Displaced Fan

Displaced, die-hard NFL fans who maintain a nearly obsessive allegiance to their favorite team despite being far removed from its local market will always have a home at DIRECTV. To honor those stalwart fans, DIRECTV has unveiled the first official list of the top displaced-fan cities in America and is also launching a national search for the Ultimate Displaced Fan.

DIRECTV analyzed data from more than one million NFL SUNDAY TICKET™ subscribers to identify the cities that hold the highest percentage of fans for each NFL team. In addition, the nation’s digital satellite television leader is setting out to crown one lucky NFL fan as America’s "Ultimate Displaced Fan,” and send him or her to Tampa for Super Bowl XLIII and a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Notable among the list of top displaced-fan cities were Las Vegas and Orlando, the only cities to house the highest percentage of displaced fans for more than two different teams. Las Vegas led in displaced fans for the Chicago Bears, Denver Broncos, Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers, while Orlando played home to the highest percentage of New England Patriots, Buffalo Bills and Detroit Lions fans. The list revealed several notable city/team relationships such as Washington D.C. housing the highest percentage of displaced fans for its most storied rival, the Dallas Cowboys, or Minneapolis housing the highest percentage of fans for its biggest rival, the Green Bay Packers. (See the attached list for a complete roster of Displaced Fan Cities and how they ranked.)

"Our NFL SUNDAY TICKET™ package, available only on DIRECTV, allows hundreds of thousands of displaced fans to watch their favorite team every Sunday--no matter where the fan lives or where the game is being played,” said Paul Guyardo, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer, DIRECTV. "We want to honor the undying loyalty of displaced fans everywhere with a nationwide search for the displaced fan with the most unique and compelling story.”

The DIRECTV Ultimate Displaced Fan Search will allow NFL fans throughout the country to enter submissions on the DIRECTV Ultimate Displaced Fan Search page at DIRECTV.com/NFL between Sept. 11 and Nov. 30, 2008. There, fans can stake their claim to this unique title through written essays/blogs, photos or video submissions that illustrate exactly why they should be crowned the Ultimate Displaced Fan. One winner will be selected by a panel of judges, based on the example of dedication they display to their favorite team and the creativity of their submissions.

The winner will receive a dream prize package, including a trip for two and two tickets to Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa, Fla. In addition, the winner will get to meet Super Bowl XLII MVP and New York Giants Quarterback Eli Manning, as well as a player from their favorite NFL team (if it’s not the Giants), and play side-by-side with celebrities and star athletes in DIRECTV’s Celebrity Beach Bowl flag football game, also held in Tampa during Super Bowl week. Finally, the winner will participate in their own media tour where they’ll rub elbows with NFL stars while doing interviews on "radio row” at the official Super Bowl media center.

"When we’re on the road, we discover some of the most die-hard displaced fans supporting us in opposing teams’ stadiums, and believe me, these fans are at the top of the list when you consider how loyal they are despite living in the hostile terrain of rival teams,” said Eli Manning, DIRECTV’s official NFL SUNDAY TICKET™ spokesman. "I can’t wait to see the crazy submissions that are sent in for this contest as fans demonstrate how much they love their favorite teams.”

Once again in 2008, DIRECTV’s exclusive NFL SUNDAY TICKET™ service is providing the ultimate way to experience the NFL regular season. At home, fans can see up to 14 games every Sunday, including a Game Mix (SuperFan^® feature) channel that displays up to eight games on one screen, the ability to pull team and player stats on demand with the push of a button, and the special Red Zone Channel (SuperFan^® Feature) that allows viewers to see the best plays from every NFL SUNDAY TICKET™ game. NFL SUNDAY TICKET SuperFan^® also provides more NFL broadcasts in HD than any other source – up to 180 games in HD throughout the regular season. Away from home, SUPERCAST™ service allows fans to see every live NFL SUNDAY TICKET™ broadcast streamed to their laptop computer, and with NFL SUNDAY TICKET™ Mobile fans can receive up-to-the-minute highlights of the best plays on their cell phones.

The 2008 NFL SUNDAY TICKET™ service is available now for $289.95 and can be purchased by calling 1-800-GET-SPORTS or visiting DIRECTV.com/NFL.

About DIRECTV, Inc.

DIRECTV, Inc. (NASDAQ:DTV), the nation’s leading satellite television service provider, presents the finest television experience available to more than 17.1 million customers in the United States and is leading the HD revolution with more than 130 HD channels – more quality HD channels than any other television provider. Each day, DIRECTV subscribers enjoy access to over 265 channels of 100% digital picture and sound, exclusive programming, industry-leading customer satisfaction (which has surpassed all national cable companies for eight years running) and superior technologies that include advanced DVR and HD-DVR services and the most state-of-the-art interactive sports packages available anywhere. For the most up-to-date information on DIRECTV, please visit directv.com.

America’s Top "Displaced Fan” City/DMA Results

Results

Below are the U.S. cities/DMAs (Designated Market Areas) featuring the largest out-of-market fan base for each NFL team (based on percentage of NFL SUNDAY TICKET™ subscribers in the DMA that have listed the specific team as their favorite). The results exclude all DMAs that are within the home territory of the local team.

1. Arizona Cardinals – St. Louis, MO

2. Atlanta Falcons – Greenville-Spartanburg, SC / Asheville, NC

3. Baltimore Ravens – Harrisburg-Lancaster, PA

4. Buffalo Bills – Orlando-Daytona, FL

5. Carolina Panthers – Norfolk, VA

6. Chicago Bears – Las Vegas, NV

7. Cincinnati Bengals – Charleston-Huntington, WV

8. Cleveland Browns – Tampa-St. Petersburg, FL

9. Dallas Cowboys – Washington, DC

10. Denver Broncos – Las Vegas, NV

11. Detroit Lions – Orlando-Daytona, FL

12. Green Bay Packers – Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN

13. Houston Texans – Fresno-Visalia, CA

14. Indianapolis Colts – Knoxville, TN

15. Jacksonville Jaguars – Norfolk, VA

16. Kansas City Chiefs – Des Moines, IA

17. Miami Dolphins – Atlanta, GA

18. Minnesota Vikings – Des Moines-Ames, IA

19. New England Patriots – Orlando-Daytona, FL

20. New Orleans Saints – Jackson, MS

21. New York Giants – West Palm Beach, FL

22. New York Jets – West Palm Beach, FL

23. Oakland Raiders – Las Vegas, NV

24. Philadelphia Eagles – Baltimore, MD

25. Pittsburgh Steelers – Cleveland, OH

26. San Diego Chargers – Las Vegas, NV

27. San Francisco 49ers – Portland, OR

28. Seattle Seahawks – Portland, OR

29. St. Louis Rams – Fresno-Visalia, CA

30. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Greenville-Spartanburg, SC / Asheville, NC

31. Tennessee Titans – San Antonio, TX

32. Washington Redskins – Raleigh-Durham, NC

Methodology

• To be considered "out-of-market” or "displaced,” the customer’s favorite team must be out of state and more than 100 miles away from the customer’s location
• An "out-of-market” or "displaced” fan must not be within the Home Team Territory (based on zip codes)
• The criteria used to determine the largest out-of-market fan base was the percentage of specific team fans within the DMA
• Percentages of fan base were used to balance the distinct size of each DMA consumer base and eliminate bias based on raw number of fans