From D* 10-K -72.5 WL Orbital License
As part of an arrangement with Telesat Canada, or Telesat, a Canadian telecommunications and broadcast services company, DIRECTV U.S. agreed to provide Telesat the use of the DIRECTV 3 satellite, which was previously used as an in-orbit spare, through the end of its useful life and in return, Telesat agreed to allow DIRECTV U.S. to use its 72.5 degrees west longitude, or WL, orbital location through 2008. As additional consideration for DIRECTV U.S.' use of 72.5 WL, DIRECTV U.S. also agreed to allow Telesat to use DIRECTV 5 or a similar satellite for a five year period, subject to certain conditions, beginning at the end of 2008. Upon receipt of final approval from the Federal Communications Commission, or FCC, in the third quarter of 2004, DIRECTV U.S. transferred DIRECTV 3 to Telesat and relocated one of its satellites to 72.5 WL to provide additional local channels and other programming in the United States. We recorded these transactions as an exchange of similar productive assets based on the net book values of the assets exchanged. As a result, we recorded a $162.6 million 72.5 WL orbital license intangible asset, which is equal to the $71.5 million net book value of the DIRECTV 3 satellite transferred from satellites, net, and an accrual for deferred lease revenues of $91.1 million, representing the value of the transferred satellite over the five year lease period. We are amortizing the 72.5 WL orbital license intangible asset over the four year contract period and will recognize the deferred lease revenues as an offset to depreciation expense during the five year lease period beginning at the end of 2008.
And for a satellite, a slot and satellite time for 5 years past 2008, you don't think there was a handshake behind the scenes that made sure the English product was put on the old DTV satellites?
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