DirecTV, the nation's largest satellite TV operator, says its revenue grew 10% in the third quarter as it added more new customers, but its results suffered from higher marketing costs used to
attract them.
DirecTV, which is second only to Comcast in the pay-TV industry, says a marketing pact with AT&T that began in February accounted for most of the increase in new U.S.
subscribers. In the latest quarter DirecTV earned $366 million, or 37 cents per share, compared with $363 million, or 33 cents per share, in the same quarter a year ago.
The company added
136,000 new U.S. subscribers in the third quarter, down from 156,000 added in the same quarter last year. On the whole, cable TV operators have been losing basic subscribers in the last few years to
satellite TV companies like DirecTV as well as phone companies. U.S. customers on average paid $85.32 per month for DirecTV's services, up 2% from last year, in part due to increases on plan prices,
HD and DVR service fees.
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