DirecTV Release Q4 Earnings

[jcrandall]

The DIRECTV Group, Inc. - The DIRECTV Group Q4 Results Cap Record Setting Financial Performance in 2008

The DIRECTV Group Adds 461,000 Net New Subscribers in Q4 2008
DIRECTV U.S. Adds 301,000 Net Subscribers - The Most in Over 3 Years
Higher Full Year Gross Additions Combined with 9 Year Low Monthly Churn Rate of 1.47% drives Net Additions of 861,000 in 2008

For the full year:

The DIRECTV Group's 2008 revenues of $19.69 billion increased 14% over the same period last year principally due to strong ARPU and subscriber growth at DIRECTV U.S. and DIRECTV Latin America.

US customer base increased 5% in 2008:

DIRECTV U.S. ended the quarter with 17.62 million subscribers, an increase of nearly 5% over the 16.83 million subscribers reported on December 31, 2007.

Average Customer Revenue nearly $84, up 6% from 2007.

DIRECTV U.S. 2008 revenues increased over 11% to $17.31 billion due to strong ARPU growth and the larger subscriber base. ARPU of $83.90 increased 6.1% from 2007 principally due to programming package price increases as well as higher HD and DVR service fees partially offset by a decline in upfront equipment fees, more competitive customer promotions, and lower advertising sales.

 

[MikeD-C05]

Now you see where all the DISH subs churned to.

 

[jacmyoung]

And I think I have contributed to that too, by my rough count since my going with D* in 02/08, at least 30+ known members (from three sites) went to D* because of my AAA deal thread, and many many others unkown but did so too.

 

[RandallA]

And I think I have contributed to that too, by my rough count since my going with D* in 02/08, at least 30+ known members (from three sites) went to D* because of my AAA deal thread, and many many others unkown but did so too.

Don't flatter yourself. You need to give credit to upper management at Dish Network for these numbers.

 

[rad]

Now you see where all the DISH subs churned to.

Nah, can't be. Charlie has been blaiming pirates and the economy for his losses. AFAIK D*'s security hasn't been cracked yet and the majority of E* customers say that D* costs more, so they must be going somewhere else.

 

[satjay]

Intresting info when you look at all that is going on in todays economy. More staying home for there entertainment dollar. Directv please dont abuse this and price yourself way out! As if this is not a major surprise, many are working less hours or not seeing a raise as many other things have gone up as well. Its a good service as you recent numbers show!


"Clearly DIRECTV's strong brand and message of offering the best television experience in America is resonating with consumers as we saw the best quarterly net subscriber growth in over 3 years at DIRECTV U.S. with 301,000 net new subscribers added in the fourth quarter. Despite the more challenging economic and competitive landscape, we remained sharply focused on attaining higher quality subscribers while driving a 6% increase in gross additions to over 1 million subscribers and maintaining a low churn rate of 1.42%. With these strong fourth quarter results, DIRECTV U.S. ended 2008 with the highest gross additions in 3 years at 3.9 million subscribers and the lowest monthly churn level in 9 years at 1.47%."

Intresting numbers from the press release



I think with the increase we will be getting with March I will be right at the 83.00 dollar average.

 

[uncrules]

While these numbers are great for D*, it may not be the best news for us HD subs. With numbers like these it just tells D* that what they are doing right now is working just fine. Meaning that they can continue to sit on their hands and lit up new HD channels at a glacial pace and it won't hurt them. No reason for them to be aggressive like they were back in fall of '07.

 

[satjay]

While these numbers are great for D*, it may not be the best news for us HD subs. With numbers like these it just tells D* that what they are doing right now is working just fine. Meaning that they can continue to sit on their hands and lit up new HD channels at a glacial pace and it won't hurt them. No reason for them to be aggressive like they were back in fall of '07.

Hope not!! I would assume, but you know what happens when you assume!! That Directv would see that the HD customer would look into what others have to offer and would move. Since those of us who have HD also have the DVR's and such we fit into this statement:

"Despite the more challenging economic and competitive landscape, we remained sharply focused on attaining higher quality subscribers while driving a 6% increase in gross additions to over 1 million subscribers and maintaining a low churn rate of 1.42%."

But weather you have advanced programing or not, service needs to remain good qualtiy.

I would think they would want to stay on top of there game. But without getting into a "flame" war or anything, I can see how they may rest becouse my options are Comcast, dont need to expalain any further more on them, and Dish which in my view takes one step foward then follows it up with three steps back.

 

[Jhon69]

Intresting info when you look at all that is going on in todays economy. More staying home for there entertainment dollar. Directv please dont abuse this and price yourself way out! As if this is not a major surprise, many are working less hours or not seeing a raise as many other things have gone up as well. Its a good service as you recent numbers show!


"Clearly DIRECTV's strong brand and message of offering the best television experience in America is resonating with consumers as we saw the best quarterly net subscriber growth in over 3 years at DIRECTV U.S. with 301,000 net new subscribers added in the fourth quarter. Despite the more challenging economic and competitive landscape, we remained sharply focused on attaining higher quality subscribers while driving a 6% increase in gross additions to over 1 million subscribers and maintaining a low churn rate of 1.42%. With these strong fourth quarter results, DIRECTV U.S. ended 2008 with the highest gross additions in 3 years at 3.9 million subscribers and the lowest monthly churn level in 9 years at 1.47%."

Intresting numbers from the press release



I think with the increase we will be getting with March I will be right at the 83.00 dollar average.

So the average is $83.? Dang! I need to drop some programming.

As for good news for HD subscribers?.There isn't any as HD subscribers wanted all channels to be in HD yesterday.

So is DirecTV on the right path?.I believe so as long as DirecTV continues to do what they have planned to offer the new HD DirecTivo and the DVR+ together.To make all DirecTV DVR subscribers happy.Choice is a good thing.

Do I think Dish will overtake DirecTV in HD?.Maybe but not for long.Think DirecTV is waiting for the competition to catch up so they can jump out in front again.

 

[vurbano]

And in this economy D* feels it can raise prices at will.

 

[goaliebob99]

While this is good news, I too am afraid of the fact that D* will continue to do nothing. They are loosing an advantage in the HD arena. Good Job on the numbers though.

 

[ksload]

Good for DirecTv.

I think they have listened to their customers (and potential customers) and given them national HD. Charlie missed the boat...2008 was the year of HDTV and Dish should have been focused on National HD.

 

[charper1]

The bottom line like it or not is they are doing what they need to maintain a very successful business in a very tough environment. They are not going about it willy-nilly to simply end up on the trash heap like so many other badly run companies as of late. AKA they are in it for the LONG HAUL, not immediate knee-jerk reactions, fad or whims. Good job!

 

[ksload]

I am sure that they also benefited from the confusion over the digital transition. Charlie needs to forget about Sirius and get his own house in order.

 

[riffjim4069]

Now you see where all the DISH subs churned to.

...don't forget the 303,000 new Verizon FiOS TV and 264,000 new AT&T U-Verse customers. This cannot bode well for Dish Network's 4th quarter numbers. They could easily lose almost 100K customers.

 

[TRSmudge]

Charlie needs to forget about Sirius and get his own house in order.

Bingo.....

I am ready to dump Dish now that Direct launched my locals in HD......

 

[tds4182]

And in this economy D* feels it can raise prices at will.

Just a reminder, nobody's holding a gun to any of our heads to make us subscribe.

Most of us could switch to another, less expensive provider, a lower priced package, or get an OTA antenna as a last resort.

Of course, some like to subscribe so they can continue (continually) to bitch about everything D* does!

 

[jacmyoung]

The world does not evolve around just D* and E*, I wouldn't assume the good D* numbers will automatically translate to bad numbers on E*, though I will not be surprised if it does.

Most people I know switched to D* were cable subs. We also know Verizon, ATT and D* have been adding large numbers of subs for the last several quarters, it did not translate to large numbers of E* sub loss.

A lot of OTA only subs are moving to pay TV services.

 

[sundude90]

Directv Earnings Call Transcript

I found a website that has the whole transcript of the Earning Call on there. Here is the URL: The DIRECTV Group Inc. Q4 2008 Earnings Call Transcript -- Seeking Alpha

Note: There is a update on the Home DVR plan on there also. It is the Q&A section at the beginning of page 9.

Thanks,

Josh

 

[Jhon69]

And in this economy D* feels it can raise prices at will.

Yes! I found the cause of it! It's the Light Circle on my DVR compelling me to accept the new price increase!.