Thursday, Jan. 10, 2002 | 10:59 a.m.
DirecTV, the world's largest satellite television provider with 10.7 million customers, said it will begin broadcasting local channels in Las Vegas beginning in the first half of this year.
Competing satellite television provider EchoStar Communications' Dish Network, with 6.4 million customers in 36 cities, currently does not have the capacity to offer Las Vegas stations' local programming like local news.
But EchoStar spokeswoman Judianne Atencio said the company hopes a pending merger with DirecTV would give it enough capacity to serve cities such as Las Vegas in the future.
Separately, EchoStar said it would increase the cost of its basic programming packages by $1 per month, or 3 percent, effective March 1 due to rising programming costs and the addition of new channels and services in 2001.
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