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Satellite provider
DirecTV will gain
1,000 customers here

Satellite television provider DirecTV Group Inc. will announce today that it is picking up 80,000 subscribers in the United States, including an estimated 1,000 in Hawaii, from a subsidiary of the Philippine's largest entertainment and broadcasting company, ABS-CBN Global Ltd.

Subscribers who receive ABS' four video and two audio channels via satellite will have their service transferred to DirecTV during the next year, beginning in August, according to Noelle Novak, spokeswoman for ABS.

In Hawaii, the best-known programming ABS generates is likely to be the Filipino Channel, which is part of Oceanic Time Warner Cable's digital premium service, though Oceanic customers are not affected by the deal.

As it happens, Oceanic is planning to expand Filipino programming choices, said Nate Smith, the company's president. "We're talking to a number of the vendors that Direct has as well, and we're also talking about sourcing additional Filipino product out of the Philippines," he said.

ABS' TFCDirect six-channel bundle includes the Filipino Channel, Cinema One, ABS-CBN News Channel, Pinoy Central TV and two audio services, DZMM and DWRR. The package is being offered to DirecTV customers for $22.99 a month.

The state of Hawaii years ago filed a complaint against DirecTV with the Federal Communications Commission, citing its unequal treatment of the local market. On the mainland, DirecTV would sell hardware through national retailers, but in Hawaii, the company would only sell through smaller local companies.

Now, however, the new Best Buy store in Iwilei is listed on DirecTV's Web site for installation and support. The store will open July 29.

"They don't have a huge share of the market, as does Oceanic, but it is a national product we typically carry and we'll try to have a go at it (in Hawaii)," said Kimo Cano, general manager of the Best Buy in Pearl City.