DirecTV 4th Quarter Results - Revenue up 13%, added nearly 1M cust Last Year

[Scott Greczkowski]

This article breaks things down better.

Charges drag DirecTV to 4th-quarter loss - Yahoo! News

 

[wallyhts]

DTV USA 18.56 million subs

DTV Latin 5.5 million subs

Sky Mexico and PanAmericana 4.6 million subs.

Had no idea that DTV provided service to over 28.66 million people

I could be wrong.

 

[skottey]

Another quarter of financial gains, another quarter of no new HD channels. Still no HBO/MAX HD channels as promised in the June 2007 press release. Other providers continue to add channel after channel. I cannot wait until I can get FIOS again and my DirecTV contract will be up in May or June. I love the DirecTV DVRs and guide style, but the channels are just too lacking for me. I am a sports fan to the extent of my local teams. I'll watch the Rays, Buccaneers, and Lightning, but no sport has me craving non-regional games. So any provider gives me what I want as far as sports. Being more into movies and series, I really thought DirecTV was going to stay on top of things or at least compete. In my area we can get Brighthouse, Dish, DirecTV, and depending on the placement of your house, FIOS. I can literally throw a rock and hit a FIOS serviced house on the next street. My house is wired but not yet serviced. My biggest mistake of moving was taking a place that didn't have FIOS yet. I had FIOS at my last place. Once you go FIOS, you never go back (unless you can't get service!).

I am tired of the limited premium channels in HD with DirecTV. Also, I really am not looking forward to Breaking Bad season 3 on basic cable channel AMC in SD with DirecTV, while the other providers in my city have the HD versions of such channels. DirecTV just shot up another satellite a month or two ago, when can we expect new HD? They have a LONG way to go to keep me when the contract is up.

This just makes me sick quarter after quarter as I see it announced on this site that DirecTV's profits are up, subscribers are up, everything is up except new channels.

How long will it take for people to realize they are not the HD leader? I am sort of stuck in a contract but I don't care. I'd drop to the lowest plan and go FIOS again if I could but I won't do the same for Dish Network. I'll wait until the contract is up if I decide to go Dish again.

Anybody have any real idea as to when new HD channels are coming and what channels? HBO/MAX have some excellent multichannels like HBO Comedy that I would love to see picked up by DirecTV. I just don't understand why they blow off such channels. I realize they are the sports leader but sports fans like movies too.

Anyway.... that is my quarterly rant. I'll be back at the next earnings report unless I am watching FIOS at that time.

 

[Juan]

stellar

DirecTV added 119,000 new U.S. subscribers after cancellations, down from 301,000 in the 2008 quarter, to end the period with a total of 18.6 million customers. Analysts expected DirecTV to add 185,000 new customers.

 

[fleetfarmer]

Anybody have any real idea as to when new HD channels are coming and what channels? HBO/MAX have some excellent multichannels like HBO Comedy that I would love to see picked up by DirecTV.

I don't have any real idea, but D12 is expected to be turned on in March or April and new HD channels will most likey be added after that.

 

[TheForce]

Approaching this thread from an investor perspective-

I have owned DTV on and off throughout the year and have made money. However, I would rather own it bullish for the future than the short selling I had to do this past year. Not that short selling is bad, but just more work to make anything from investing in DTV. The stock has had it's share of ups and downs throughout the year making it a good candidate for owning for short periods of time.
By contrast, if I can compare, DishNetwork is a safer bet over the long haul. It even has paid investors dividends, last year at $2 a share or about 10%. DTV pays no dividends. In contrast, I made 10% investment with dividends alone with Dish and counting the growth factor, 90% on my money should I sell it as I did DirecTV. With D*, I had to buy sell buy sell yada yada and ended up making just 6% by years end, partly because of timing but that's how it works when you have to short a stock and wait to buy back in.
Again from an investor perspective, I am less concerned at the number of subscribers because the stock needs movement to make money. If DTV was smart they would begin to pay back investors with a modest dividend, being competitive with, say DishNetwork and then grow the dividend to encourage long term investment by the public. In this way the company could continue to rais capital with continued stock issuing and not worry the investors of dilution. Instead, DTV continues to be a company on the verge of acquisition by some other company and the public investor is just prey.
Bottom line- as joe public, I can't give a rats ass how many subscribers DTV gets. It doesn't matter. What matters is how much programming the subs get for their $ spent and for investors whether the stock has good movement, up and down.

Now having said that, today the stock was up by 4.13% on this news but the interesting phenomena of today's market is that you can never base a gain on news like this. The reason is that in recent months, all it takes to kill a good financial report from a company is a bad comment from the President on a totally unrelated matter, or a bad report from a competitor that scares the hedge fund managers into a sell mood. It's crazy but good reports help but they don't guarantee anything these days.

 

[hancox]

Don - share buyback forthcoming, so that can be "as good as a dividend", at least a small one.

 

[riffjim4069]

Looking at the numbers revenue is going up however the qrowth for DIRECTV is the USA is slowing down greatly.

Yep, a lot more competition in the pay TV market. Of course, since Verizon appears to be buying fiber with an entrenching tool (aka e-Tool) DirecTV doesn't have much to worry about.

 

[TheForce]

Don - share buyback forthcoming, so that can be "as good as a dividend", at least a small one.

Maybe, but as you said a small one. The real spec now is that DTV is ripe, once again for new ownership. This time the speculation is a phone company like AT&T or VZ will be bidding for DirecTV. I recall when AT&T owned cable here in Jacksonville. The city sued them out of town the service was so bad. They had 2 weeks to pack their bags and leave when Comcast bought it out.

 

[ChrisK114]

Okay judging by what I have read on Swanni's site, I am ticked. If D* uses most of D12 space for PPV and 3D and add very little national HD, I am gone. This to me would be a sign of what is important to them. I mean how stupid could you be?? Don't they realize the big influx of HD is what brought on their big growth spurt. Customers have said time and time again that they could care less about PPV. This is a slap in the face. I will pay my ETF and go to someone else. Please someone tell me this isn't true.

 

[fleetfarmer]

Okay judging by what I have read on Swanni's site, I am ticked. If D* uses most of D12 space for PPV and 3D and add very little national HD, I am gone. This to me would be a sign of what is important to them. I mean how stupid could you be?? Don't they realize the big influx of HD is what brought on their big growth spurt. Customers have said time and time again that they could care less about PPV. This is a slap in the face. I will pay my ETF and go to someone else. Please someone tell me this isn't true.

I don't know for sure but I kinda doubt this is true.

 

[gadgtfreek]

Sometimes Swanni is not as off as people like to make him. You can't tell the lemmings at DBS this, because they await every breath of Satracer like a school girl. Then, once the screwing is over and your butt is sore, all the say is "We love Directv and they had a reason.

Satracer said:

More RSN's
More Premiums
More Basic Channels
More Locals

This does not blow my skirt up, especially when I start seeing 3D this and Cinema this. The poll's I've seen show that the sub base's priority is ESPNU first, and some of the other "basic" channels.

I have an issue with PPV and Premiums, because that benefits Direct, and not me. Yeah, it's selfish, but my bill is $70/mo with a $26 credit, and I see where Directv is getting $92/sub.

Yeah, and they could not deal with Vs because it would be bad for us

I do not have a problem paying $100/mo if I get the channels, but when I pay a lot anyways, and they tell me they are saving me money by not adding channels, thats irritating.

 

[bforce]

Here is Swanni's Article about D* adding 400 PPV title by spring. Called DirecTV Cinema.

DIRECTV to Expand PPV Lineup to 400 Movies

 

[Rey]

I too will really be pissed off if they don't compete with what dish is doing on HD channel additions.

 

[gadgtfreek]

Well, keep me updated here. I think I just got banned from DBS.

 

[rad]

Well, keep me updated here. I think I just got banned from DBS.

Doesn't say you're banned for your member name.

 

[gadgtfreek]

Well, Tom PM'd after he banned me from a thread where I criticized D* and certain parts of DBS that turns a blind eye.

He said it was my "prize" in the PM, so I told him the truth hurts, and I did not care for their selective moderating.

I've had posts deleted out of several threads with open criticism to Directv, but one thread where I asked that guy Hoosier205 to stay on topic (Hotpass), his basic answer was for me to "get over it and unsubscribe if I did not like it". I reported the thread and asked if they would please make everyone get back on topic, and all I got was dead air.

Anyways, not to hijack, which i already did. I just wish the Directv forums here were a little more active.

 

[rad]

I did see your post and IMHO it wasn't your criticizing of of DirecTV but there was the discussion of lemmings and kool-aid drinkers. Member 'name calling' or questioning moderation decisions in public will get you a time out, that's the rules there.

 

[gadgtfreek]

Yepp, Tom said my name calling was an issue in a 2nd PM. I told him to stick it.

 

[sudnshok]

Another quarter of financial gains, another quarter of no new HD channels. Still no HBO/MAX HD channels as promised in the June 2007 press release. Other providers continue to add channel after channel. I cannot wait until I can get FIOS again and my DirecTV contract will be up in May or June. I love the DirecTV DVRs and guide style, but the channels are just too lacking for me. I am a sports fan to the extent of my local teams. I'll watch the Rays, Buccaneers, and Lightning, but no sport has me craving non-regional games. So any provider gives me what I want as far as sports. Being more into movies and series, I really thought DirecTV was going to stay on top of things or at least compete. In my area we can get Brighthouse, Dish, DirecTV, and depending on the placement of your house, FIOS. I can literally throw a rock and hit a FIOS serviced house on the next street. My house is wired but not yet serviced. My biggest mistake of moving was taking a place that didn't have FIOS yet. I had FIOS at my last place. Once you go FIOS, you never go back (unless you can't get service!).

Couldn't have said it better myself. I think they WILL see people starting to drop after the summer if they don't add new HD content. It pisses me off to no end their deceptive "200 HD Channel Capability" TV ads. I've talked several people out of going to DTV and will continue to do so until they start adding channels. FiOS is certainly the way to go and if it weren't for the hassle of switching, I would have done so long ago. The clock is ticking for me as I'm giving them until the summer to make good.

And this DTV Cinema sounds like what I expect to happen... D12 being used mostly for more HD PPV rather than HD Nationals/Premiums.