Official Press Release

DALLAS – June 16, 2006 -- The Cyberathlete Professional League (CPL) announced today that it has entered into an exclusive television agreement with DIRECTV, Inc., the nation’s leading digital television service provider, for the broadcast of the CPL's 2006 season tournaments.

DIRECTV has obtained television options for all worldwide CPL events, and has exercised its option to broadcast the CPL's Winter Championships, which will take place Wednesday, Dec. 13 to Sunday, Dec. 17, 2006, at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Dallas.

DIRECTV will present the CPL tournament coverage as a true sporting event. Stories of the competitors will be told via interviews, complemented with coverage of their exploits in actual competition.

"The introduction of DIRECTV as an exclusive television partner of the CPL is a significant step for the entire sport," said Angel Munoz, CPL founder and president. "I am convinced that DIRECTV will deliver a new television experience that will accelerate the growth of the sport, exceed the expectations of gamers and transform the perception of millions of television viewers."

"Our partnership with CPL exemplifies how serious we are about presenting these videogame competitions as a professional sport," said Steven Roberts, DIRECTV vice president and general manager. "CPL's nine years of experience, its defining role in the industry and its visionary leadership is exactly what DIRECTV requires to establish a solid foundation in which to build the best coverage the sport has ever seen."

About DIRECTV, Inc.
DIRECTV, Inc. is the nation's leading digital television service provider with more than 15.4 million customers. DIRECTV and the Cyclone Design logo are registered trademarks of DIRECTV, Inc. DIRECTV (NYSE: DTV) is a world-leading provider of digital multichannel television entertainment services. DIRECTV is approximately 38 percent owned by News Corporation.

About CPL
The Cyberathlete Professional League (CPL) is the most recognized name in professional computer game competitions. Launched in 1997, the CPL is also the worlds first videogames league. Over the past nine years, the CPL has hosted over 50 international main events with a total attendance of 160,000 gamers and has awarded over $3,000,000 in prizes.


Update: GotFrag will be conducting an Interview with the CPL and DirecTV early next week. If you have questions that you'd like to include, please ask them in the comments below and we'll do our best to ask them.