PrimeStar was an American direct broadcast satellite broadcasting company formed in November 1990 by seven cable television companies including Comcast Corp. and TCI Communications Corp.[1] PrimeStar was the first medium-powered DBS system in the United States but slowly declined in popularity with the arrival of DirecTV in 1994 and Dish Network in 1996.

PrimeStar was a medium-powered DBS-style system utilizing FSS technology that used a larger 3-foot (91 cm) satellite dish to receive signals.

The company was in the process of converting to a high-powered DBS platform when it was purchased and shut down by DirecTV.

[6] Meanwhile, ASkyB's license for the 110-degree satellite location, and an uplink center, was resold to EchoStar, the parent company of Dish Network.

Primestar, also at this time in 1997, grouped their channels by category, (e.g., "NEWS", "FAMILY", "SPORTS", "MOVIES", etc.

(Earlier remotes that lacked the buttons could instead use repetitive channel numbers to bring them to the desired category.)