Satellite Blog » Directv

DirecTV is Up 60% This Year and Still Going Strong

Administrator — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 22:53:50 +0000

DirecTV generated about $1 billion of free cash flow before interest and taxes this year, doubling last year’s output, and analysts expect earnings per share to jump 21% next year, to $1.31.

In the 2006 third quarter, DirecTV’s customer churn rate was a higher-than-expected 1.8%, and the company added fewer new subscribers than expected. But it was able to boost its percentage of higher-quality customers while containing subscriber-acquisition costs. Also, satellite-TV players continue to win “eyeballs,” despite intensifying competition from cable. DirecTV has 15.68 million subscribers, up from 14.9 million last spring.

Barron’s noted the stock is up more than 60% this year — and argues investors still might not sell, despite the run-up in price. I’ve kept my entire position intact, thinking we’ve got more upside.

DirecTV Pulls Mega Project Together

Administrator — Tue, 31 May 2005 13:59:59 +0000

DirecTV Pulls Mega Project Together

DirecTV Group kicked off its enterprise architecture project last July with the idea of putting silos of information into a uniformed system.

The provider of digital satellite television launched its service in 1994, and since grew from 1 million customers to more than 14 million. News Corp. owns a 34-percent share of DirecTV, which has 6,000 employees nationwide.

DirecTV owns eight satellites with more than 225 channels in more than 135 markets nationwide. The company is launching five more satellites for 1,500 high-definition channels. Programming includes NFL Sunday Ticket, Mega March Madness, pay-per-view and DirecTV DVR with TiVo.

DIRECTV 8 Satellite Successfully Launched

Administrator — Tue, 24 May 2005 12:56:57 +0000

DIRECTV 8 Satellite Successfully Launched

DIRECTV 8, a high-power Ku/Ka-band, direct broadcast satellite built by Space Systems/Loral (SS/L), was successfully launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan aboard a Proton M/Breeze M launch vehicle provided by International Launch Services (ILS).

The satellite will provide selectable medium- and high-power Ku-band broadcast services to the U.S. on up to 16 high-power transponders. The Ka-band payload will use the full 1,000 MHz of Ka-band communications bandwidth available to link DIRECTV facilities as part of DIRECTV’s infrastructure development for the upcoming launch of local digital and high-definition services in the Ka-band.

Look at the big picture when deciding on cable or satellite

Administrator — Mon, 23 May 2005 19:43:29 +0000

Look at the big picture when deciding on cable or satellite

Q: I am thinking of changing from cable TV to satellite and would like to know what you think about Dish Network versus Comcast. I’ve seen a lot of advertisement spam and snail mail about Dish that promises the world, and I need the real word from someone I trust.

– Barry Werber, Pittsburgh

A: Subscription TV has become quite complicated, but I can tell you a bit about the industry in general and relate my own experiences with both vendors. I subscribe to both Comcast (cable TV and high-speed Internet) and Dish Network (satellite TV).

First, how many services do you want, and how important are they to you? Cable companies offer high-speed Internet service and, increasingly, phone service. You can bundle them together in packages to save money.

Satellite TV is pretty much a television-only service, but what great television! I have had Dish Network for eight years and could not be more pleased. For the serious audio/videophile, I think satellite is the way to go. The picture is 100 percent digital, unlike digital cable, which is a hybrid analog/digital system. Satellite picture quality is exceptional, and I can recommend Dish unhesitatingly based on my own experiences. Friends who have DirecTV tell me they are a great choice, too.

DirecTV 8 Launch Details Revealed

Administrator — Tue, 17 May 2005 19:07:35 +0000

DirecTV 8 Launch Details Revealed

International Launch Services (ILS) said the window for its May 21 launch of the DirecTV 8 satellite from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan will open at 1:59 p.m. EDT. The satellite will be delivered to orbit on a Proton M/Breeze M rocket.

Space System/Loral built the DirecTV 8 satellite based on its 1300 platform for DirecTV Inc. The spacecraft, which will reside at 101 degrees West, carries 16 Ku- band transponders and a Ka-band payload to link broadcast facilities. It will be used to support the expansion of new digital and high-definition services. The satellite has an expected service life of 12 years.

DirecTV posts narrower 1Q loss on revenue

Administrator — Thu, 05 May 2005 16:10:12 +0000

DirecTV posts narrower 1Q loss on revenue

DirecTV Group Inc., the nation’s largest direct broadcast satellite provider, said Monday that first-quarter losses narrowed significantly from last year, due to fewer charges and higher revenue at DirecTV U.S.

Losses narrowed to $41.4 million, or 3 cents per share, from $638.8 million, or 46 cents per share, a year ago.

The 2004 period included charges of $479 million related to the sale of PanAmSat, $311 million from a change in accounting for subscriber acquisition, upgrade and retention costs, and $63 million for the early retirement of PanAmSat’s backup satellite due to a failure in its power system.

Gravity Grounds DirecTV

Administrator — Thu, 05 May 2005 16:08:31 +0000

Gravity Grounds DirecTV

Is satellite entertainment giant DirecTV set for new heights, or will the stock stay stuck in low orbit?

Sure, first-quarter results out yesterday were heartening: Subscriber growth helped DirecTV stem losses, prompting the market to push the stock up 5%. All the same, it’s hard to find a good reason to buy into DirecTV right now.

DirecTV added 505,000 net additional subscribers, ending the quarter with 14.45 million. On the surface, that’s great news. But investors expecting subscriber growth to translate into financial turnaround anytime soon may want to think again. The cost of acquiring and holding on to subscriptions remains high for DirectTV, and it’s likely to stay that way as more and more players — including cable operators and telcos — grab for slices of the couch potato marketplace.

DirecTV Offers Rebate to Voom Customers

Administrator — Fri, 22 Apr 2005 19:38:24 +0000

Voom subscribers who switch over to DirecTV will receive a $200 rebate and three months free of DirecTV HD, according to SkyReport.com. Voom subscribers, who will be stuck without the service’s 39 HD channels when they officially go off air April 30th, can choose from either an HD system or an HD digital video recorder (DVR) system.

It has been an up-and-down few months for Voom, as owner Cablevision voted to shut down the money losing service after chairman Charles Dolan was unable to come up with enough private funding to keep it alive. Since it launched in 2003, Voom has lost an estimated $661 million.

EchoStar Communications, provider of satellite rival Dish Network, recently purchased Voom’s satellite for $200 million.

DirecTV Completes $2.5 Billion Senior Secured Financing

Administrator — Tue, 19 Apr 2005 12:50:05 +0000

DIRECTV Completes $2.5 Billion Senior Secured Financing

The DIRECTV Group, Inc. (NYSE:DTV) announced today that its subsidiary, DIRECTV Holdings LLC, has completed its previously announced senior secured credit facility. The size of the facility was increased to $2.5 billion as DIRECTV elected not to proceed with an anticipated $500 million unsecured notes offering.

The new senior secured credit facility consists of a $500 million undrawn six-year revolving credit facility, a $500 million six-year Term A loan and a $1.5 billion eight-year Term B loan. The interest rate on each of the loans is currently LIBOR plus 1.50% per annum. The facility is secured by substantially all of the assets of DIRECTV Holdings and its domestic subsidiaries and is guaranteed by all of its domestic subsidiaries. The proceeds of the facility were used to repay the existing $1.0 billion senior secured loan and replace an undrawn $250 million revolving credit facility, to repay an unsecured $875 million note owing to DIRECTV Group and to pay transaction costs, with the remaining proceeds available for working capital or other purposes. Bank of America, N.A. is the administrative agent and collateral agent for the facility, and JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. is the syndication agent. Bank of America Securities LLC and J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. were co-lead arrangers and co-book managers, while Credit Suisse First Boston, Goldman Sachs Credit Partners, L.P. and Citicorp North America, Inc. acted as co-documentation agents.

Finisar accuses DirecTV of violating patents

Administrator — Mon, 11 Apr 2005 17:08:49 +0000

Finisar accuses DirecTV of violating patents

Finisar Corp., a maker of gear for optical networks, Wednesday accused DirecTV Group Inc. of violating patents for an information-transmission system.

In a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, located in Beaumont, Texas, Sunnyvale-based Finisar said it seeks monetary damages and injunctive relief.

It said DirecTV, the nation’s largest direct broadcast satellite provider, infringed patents for technology which provides access to the contents of a large database while using a “manageable amount of bandwidth.”