DirecTV Group Inc., the largest U.S. satellite-television provider, reported a 4.6 percent drop in fourth-quarter profit after spending more to attract customers in a slowing economy. That investment paid off in the form of an additional 301,000 U.S. TV subscribers the year-ago period. That seems pretty good, given the times, or as one stock analyst put it, “DirecTV has, at least so far, been as little impacted by the recession as any company in America.” Bloomberg Feb. 10, 2009
Feb 102009
Whither DirecTV?
Carriage (Cable & Satellite TV)
Comments Off
Sep 252008
Rupert Murdoch has suggested that News Corp. may have erred in selling DirecTV to Liberty Media earlier this year, although he remains uncertain about the company’s long-term prospects in the competitive pay-TV market. Liberty Media may merge DirecTV with Liberty Entertainment, perhaps leveraging up to fund acquisitions (that is, if or when the credit markets again function). What is clear is that DirecTV is a cash cow — it produced $950 million in free cash last year — and takes in an average of $82 per month from customers, well ahead of the number two satellite provider, Dish Network. Still, the company faces competition from cable companies and telecoms and uncertainties about the impact of emerging technologies. Investor’s Business Daily Sept. 24, 2008
