 Hughes and other companies believed in the early 1990s that technology would soon make digital satellite television affordable.Hughes attempted to create a joint venture with NBC, News Corp., and Cablevision in 1990, to launch the first high-power digital television service called Sky Cable.Failing to do so, the company instead created DirecTV as a separate division and secured an agreement with USSB to build and launch the first high-power direct-broadcast satellite system.