GVT and EchoStar plan pay TV joint venture in Brazil

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Vivendi and EchoStar Corp. (NASDAQ: SATS) announced today that EchoStar Technologies LLC and Vivendi subsidiary GVT have entered into negotiations to form a joint venture for pay TV services in Brazil.

GVT and EchoStar aim to position their future joint venture as a leader in the fast growing Brazilian pay TV market which would also benefit from the expected higher demand driven by two key global events to be held in the country: FIFA World Cup in 2014 and Olympic Games in 2016.

The joint venture would be headquartered in Brazil, managed by GVT, and would benefit from GVT´s strong market position and state-of-the-art IP network combined with EchoStar´s expertise in satellite and video technology and its Brazilian licenses. The objective is to offer a national service based on IPTV and a unique high power satellite to provide leading edge features, quality and reliability to consumers.

The deal is subject to execution of definitive agreements and all corporate and governmental approvals.