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Tighter credit checks on potential new customers led to lower subscriber additions for DirecTV during the first quarter, but the satellite TV company also posted a profit for the three-month period.
DirecTV's first quarter gross subscriber additions numbered 919,000, representing a decrease of 19 percent when compared to first quarter 2005. The lower gross customer additions were attributed to revised credit policies and retailer incentives aimed at improving the quality of new subscriber additions, the company said.
After accounting for average monthly churn of 1.45 percent for the period, DirecTV added 255,000 net subscribers during the three-month period. That takes the company's customer total to 15.39 million.
As for financials, DirecTV's first quarter revenues increased 8 percent to $3.39 billion. Net income of $235 million for the period was an improvement from a net loss of $41 million reported for first quarter 2005.
DirecTV CEO Chase Carey said the company didn't hit targets on a few items, including subscriber acquisition costs (SAC) that were about $10 to $15 higher than expected. The higher SAC, which came in at $668, was attributed to higher costs tied to the company's new DVR and HD receivers.
During a conference call, Carey stressed DirecTV came in with a strong quarter, saying that netting a "quarter a million subscribers is a pretty healthy growth rate."
Looking ahead, the company will concentrate on its roll out of its high-def programming, which Carey said "will play an increasingly important role in DirecTV's competitive strength and future growth."
By the end of the year the company expects to have HD local channels available to about three-quarters of all households, the CEO said. "And after the launch of our two remaining HD satellites next year, we expect to have the most comprehensive and compelling offering of HD programming for nearly every home in America," Carey said.
Tighter credit checks on potential new customers led to lower subscriber additions for DirecTV during the first quarter, but the satellite TV company also posted a profit for the three-month period.
DirecTV's first quarter gross subscriber additions numbered 919,000, representing a decrease of 19 percent when compared to first quarter 2005. The lower gross customer additions were attributed to revised credit policies and retailer incentives aimed at improving the quality of new subscriber additions, the company said.
After accounting for average monthly churn of 1.45 percent for the period, DirecTV added 255,000 net subscribers during the three-month period. That takes the company's customer total to 15.39 million.
As for financials, DirecTV's first quarter revenues increased 8 percent to $3.39 billion. Net income of $235 million for the period was an improvement from a net loss of $41 million reported for first quarter 2005.
DirecTV CEO Chase Carey said the company didn't hit targets on a few items, including subscriber acquisition costs (SAC) that were about $10 to $15 higher than expected. The higher SAC, which came in at $668, was attributed to higher costs tied to the company's new DVR and HD receivers.
During a conference call, Carey stressed DirecTV came in with a strong quarter, saying that netting a "quarter a million subscribers is a pretty healthy growth rate."
Looking ahead, the company will concentrate on its roll out of its high-def programming, which Carey said "will play an increasingly important role in DirecTV's competitive strength and future growth."
By the end of the year the company expects to have HD local channels available to about three-quarters of all households, the CEO said. "And after the launch of our two remaining HD satellites next year, we expect to have the most comprehensive and compelling offering of HD programming for nearly every home in America," Carey said.
