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DIRECTV still tops in HD
A report issued by market research group Pike and Fisher revealed that despite a recent surge in channels in Verizon's FiOS television service, small-dish provider DIRECTV still delivers more high-definition options than any other provider.
However, the P&F tallies are close: as of January, DIRECTV offers up to 104 HD channels, beating Verizon's high-def roster by one.
On its website, DIRECTV claims to have more than 130 HD channels, including more than 30 pay-per-view channels.
Q4 report 'strong'
Net income may have dropped in the fourth quarter, but that shortcoming hasn't stopped DIRECTV from claiming the company had the strongest financial year since its launch in 1994.
"Strong fourth quarter financial results capped the best year ever for DIRECTV in both the United States and Latin America," said Chase Carey, president and CEO of The DIRECTV Group, Inc.
"Company highlights included revenue growth of over 14 percent to nearly $20 billion, the highest operating profit before depreciation and amortization margin in our history increasing 130 basis points to 25.5 percent and most importantly, a 76 percent increase in free cash flow to about $1.7 billion."
While net income was down five per cent to $332 million, compared to the previous year's fourth quarter, revenues were up by nine per cent during that same period, increasing to $5.31 billion. Additionally, operating profits before amortization and depreciation had jumped 11 percent to $1.22 billion. The meltdown of the global economy also didn't seem to affect consumer demand as DIRECT netted 301,000 subscribers during the quarter.
"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 three years at DIRECTV U.S.," added Carey.
Anyone for Cricket?
The thoughts of most sports fans this time of year usually focus on the start of the baseball season. However, for followers of the game's more traditional equivalent, cricket, DIRECTV has landed a major coup.
The company has joined forces with cricket steaming video portal Willow TV and the International Cricket Council to provide a roster of tournaments right up to the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2011.
Viewers will be able to catch tournaments in India, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, England and other countries where international matches occur by subscribing to the CricketTicket 2009 package. The full service is available for $299.99, while individual matches can be purchased a la carte.