• The Hollywood Reporter, Friday, May 8, 2009 9:30 AM

DirecTV added 460,000 net new subscribers in the first quarter -- its highest quarterly U.S. user gain in four years. As a result, the satellite TV company is raising its 2009 subscriber growth estimate from the mid-800,000 range to more than 1 million.

The company reports that first-quarter revenue rose 7% to $4.9 billion as U.S. net subscriber gains rose 67% over the year-ago period. DirecTV's U.S. user base was 18 million at the end of March.

But those new users were expensive. The company also reported first-quarter net income fell 46% to $201 million and operating profit decreased 35% to $424 million. "More promotional offers to customers, plus lower premium movie, pay-per-view and advertising revenues limited our [average revenue per user] growth to 0.8%," says CEO Chase Carey.

Read the whole story at The Hollywood Reporter »