AT&T Signs ION

SAN ANTONIO -- AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) and ION Media Networks, Inc. (Amex: ION) today announced a distribution agreement to deliver ION's suite of programming channels as part of the AT&T U-verse(SM) TV channel lineup.

Under the agreement, AT&T will carry ION Television, ION's flagship network, which features a broad mix of popular series, movies, sports and specials targeted to families and viewers of all ages. Additionally, AT&T U- verse TV will offer ION's recently launched 24-hour diginets, qubo, a bilingual, educational children's network focused on literacy and values, and ION Life, promoting active lifestyles, personal growth and wellness.

"We are pleased to offer ION's portfolio of diversified network programming to our U-verse TV subscribers," said Dan York, head of programming, AT&T Operations, Inc. "ION, qubo and ION Life are welcome additions to our channel lineup and enhance the value of our program offerings."

"We are delighted about initiating our television affiliation with AT&T," said Brandon Burgess, president and CEO, ION Media Networks. "AT&T is making major investments in its next-generation, multimedia consumer platform, and we are excited about the opportunity to deliver ION's content brands to AT&T U- verse customers."

AT&T U-verse TV is delivered by Project Lightspeed, the company's initiative to expand the fiber-optics network deeper into neighborhoods to deliver U-verse TV, AT&T Yahoo!(R) High Speed Internet U-verse Enabled and, in the future, Voice over IP services. Through its subsidiaries, AT&T expects to reach nearly 19 million households by the end of 2008 as part of its initial deployment, using fiber-to-the-node (FTTN) and fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) technologies.

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T)