DirecTV Touts 'Anytime, Anywhere' Service

Michael-White

Cord-cutting apparently isn't having much of an impact at DirecTV. But the satellite operator is looking beyond the TV to be responsive to customer behavior. 

CEO Mike White said it wants to continue to grow its traditional base. But DirecTV wants to couple that with "adapting our U.S. business as our world becomes more mobile, more wireless, more interactive, more on-demand."

On the subscription front, White said DirecTV expects to add more than 200,000 net subscribers in the current quarter, taking it over the 19-million mark.

The 200,000 net additions in the October-December period would be more than the 119,000 the satellite operator had in the same quarter a year ago. And the most in any quarter this year.

The satellite operator serves more homes than any other provider except Comcast; it would begin 2011 with 19.1 million subscribers. White, who joined DirecTV a year ago, spoke Thursday at a company investor event.

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Looking ahead, White indicated that DirecTV, which does not offer its own broadband service, expects to increasingly provide subscribers with a chance to access content on multiple screens. That is expected to include substantial TV Everywhere-type access, which lets subscribers use authentication codes to watch shows out-of-home.

White wants to become "increasingly device agnostic."

He said DirecTV's "vision statement" has undergone two major alterations: "Instead of just saying: make DirecTV the best television experience, we've broadened that to reflect the word video," he said. "Whether it is through the Web or linear television, there are going to be a variety of video experiences that we can offer to our customers."

Accessibility is critical to the company. "Making our service more convenient anytime and anywhere our customers want it is an important strategic imperative," he said.

In 2009, DirecTV began offering customers who cannot receive its signals, but want its "Sunday Ticket" NFL package, a chance to get it via the Internet.

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