MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

Hughes’ Satellite TV Unit Signs Columbia Pictures Deal: DirecTv, the El Segundo-based satellite TV venture of Hughes Communications, has signed an output deal with Columbia Pictures to supply the soon-to-be-launched direct-broadcast system with Columbia and TriStar films. The deal follows similar arrangements Hughes made in January with Paramount Pictures and Walt Disney Co. Hughes plans to launch in December a satellite capable of delivering 150 channels directly to homes equipped with special satellite dishes and decoder boxes. The system is to begin service during the first quarter of 1994.