This was announced a month or two ago. I've seen posts on several different HT/Satellite forums for a while now. I don't believe this is specifically a DirecTV policy - I thought I saw that it was initiated by the studios. But I've never ordered PPV and didn't read extremely close, so maybe I'm remembering wrong.
In regards to the price increases, I'm not going to say I'm happy with it by any means, but I'm pretty sure there was mention of every other provider increasing as well. So D* is far from alone. Just add it to the list of every other bill that keeps on going up.
And there were many threads on the separation of the pre-existing HD channels. Personally, I have no problem with the way they broke it out. They could have simply said "we added 50 HD channels (or whatever the number was) so we're doubling the HD fee.". Instead, they kept the HD price unchanged, and that includes all channels that have an SD counterpart. The only channels in the 'extra' tier are those that are HD only. Considering how many channels have been added in the last few months, I'm not going to complain - they have to re-coup their increased cost in some fashion. I personally dropped the 'extra pack' because I didn't watch any of those channels anyway, but the option is obviously there for anyone that wants it. If I was an avid watcher of any of the channels that "moved", I'd probably be upset as well.
However, the increase in Sunday Ticket price once again has probably tipped me over the edge. I've only had it for two years, and really enjoy the options it provides. I grimaced at the previous cost, but I think the latest increase has pushed it outside of my limit. If my favorite team was out of market, I could probably justify it, but well over $350 to watch football games is past my limit (especially when I'm trying to pay for a wedding in August). I considered canceling last year (ST only), but I think this year I will pull the plug.