# DirecTV 4th Quarter Financial Call



## RAD (Aug 5, 2002)

Received an e-mail alert:

_DIRECTV (NASDAQTV) will host a conference call and Internet Webcast to discuss its 2008 fourth quarter financial results, outlook and other forward-looking information on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2009 at 2 p.m. ET, 11 a.m. PT. _

It will be interesting to see if they continue to increase their total subscriber base or if they also will now see a decrease like Dish has.


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## dodge boy (Mar 31, 2006)

Cool thanks for the info, and yeah it will be interesting to see.


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## RAD (Aug 5, 2002)

Don't forget the call is today. They also post results at http://investor.directv.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=364395

Part if it:

_"The DIRECTV Group, Inc. (NASDAQTV) today reported that fourth quarter 2008 revenues increased 9% to $5.31 billion, operating profit before depreciation and amortization1 increased 11% to $1.22 billion and operating profit declined 6% to $579 million compared to last year's fourth quarter. The DIRECTV Group reported that fourth quarter net income of $332 million declined 5% and earnings per share increased 7% to $0.32 compared with the same period last year.

"Strong fourth quarter financial results capped the best year ever for DIRECTV in both the United States and Latin America. Company highlights included revenue growth of over 14% to nearly $20 billion, the highest operating profit before depreciation and amortization (OPBDA) margin in our history increasing 130 basis points to 25.5% and most importantly, a 76% increase in free cash flow to about $1.7 billion," said Chase Carey, president and CEO of The DIRECTV Group, Inc

"Clearly DIRECTV's strong brand and message of offering the best television experience in America is resonating with consumers as we saw the best quarterly net subscriber growth in over 3 years at DIRECTV U.S. with 301,000 net new subscribers added in the fourth quarter. Despite the more challenging economic and competitive landscape, we remained sharply focused on attaining higher quality subscribers while driving a 6% increase in gross additions to over 1 million subscribers and maintaining a low churn rate of 1.42%. With these strong fourth quarter results, DIRECTV U.S. ended 2008 with the highest gross additions in 3 years at 3.9 million subscribers and the lowest monthly churn level in 9 years at 1.47%."

Carey added, "This strong consumer demand combined with ARPU growth of 3.5% contributed to an 8% increase in revenues to over $4.7 billion while OPBDA increased 5% to $1.1 billion in the quarter. Revenue and OPBDA growth were impacted by greater promotional activity for both new and existing customers, as well as an increase in the number of customers signing up for advanced services resulting in higher equipment and installation costs. In terms of the full year 2008, DIRECTV U.S. revenue, OPBDA and OPBDA margin reached record levels and cash flow before interest and taxes of $2.5 billion was more than $1 billion or 73% higher than 2007."_

It's going to be curious id Dish finally can post a net add in subscribers of if they continue the slide and what Charlie will say the reason is.


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## Steve615 (Feb 5, 2006)

RAD said:


> Don't forget the call is today. They also post results at http://investor.directv.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=364395
> 
> Part if it:
> 
> ...


Thanks for the update RAD.I got that investor e-mail a few minutes ago too.
It looks like DirecTV is managing to "stay ahead of the curve",so to say. 
Given the current economic climate,the net new sub numbers surprised me.


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## Piratefan98 (Mar 11, 2008)

No doubt about it .... from a financial standpoint, the company is really kicking butt. Now, if they'd just spend a little of that profit at the negotiating table, I'd be happy. :lol:

Jeff


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## CorpITGuy (Apr 12, 2007)

Piratefan98 said:


> No doubt about it .... from a financial standpoint, the company is really kicking butt. Now, if they'd just spend a little of that profit at the negotiating table, I'd be happy. :lol:
> 
> Jeff


They'd better.  That's the price of staying ahead and making those profits in the future.


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## newsposter (Nov 13, 2003)

so whens the new tivo coming


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## wilbur_the_goose (Aug 16, 2006)

Wow - Congrats to DirecTV Group.

A nice surprise.


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

I should be able to blog this, I hope. It's been a busy day so far for me at work, I'll be ready for a "break" around 2. 

Also be interesting to see if they ignore Tivo once again or they finally mention it for the first time since the press release last summer. If they don't say anything then I think any release this year is in doubt. Is Tivo having their results call soon? EDIT: Looks like March 2nd.


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

Netflix is another company that reported great numbers in this economy. It wouldn't surprise me if all cable/satco's report higher numbers for the same reason... folks are going out less and spending more time at home in front of the TV. /steve


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

Steve said:


> ... folks are going out less and spending more time at home in front of the TV. /steve


Their HDTV....


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

Steve615 said:


> Given the current economic climate,the net new sub numbers surprised me.


Note the contribution of DIRECTV LA. It represents a large chunk of the progress made.


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## tonyd79 (Jul 24, 2006)

And yet the consumer electronics stores are failing miserably.


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## Sixto (Nov 18, 2005)

harsh said:


> Note the contribution of DIRECTV LA. It represents a large chunk of the progress made.


and "we saw the best quarterly net subscriber growth in over 3 years at DIRECTV U.S. with 301,000 net new subscribers added in the fourth quarter"


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## denvertrakker (Feb 6, 2009)

RAD said:


> It's going to be curious if Dish finally can post a net add in subscribers or if they continue the slide and what Charlie will say the reason is.


My bet is on a continued downturn, followed by Charlie blaming "the economy" - which he's been doing since _before_ the financial crisis.

Couldn't be the horrendous, arrogant customer service, Charlie, could it?:sure:

Ex-E* subscriber, now loving my D*


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## jpl (Jul 9, 2006)

Steve said:


> Netflix is another company that reported great numbers in this economy. It wouldn't surprise me if all cable/satco's report higher numbers for the same reason... folks are going out less and spending more time at home in front of the TV. /steve


I believe you're right. Both U-Verse and FiOS also reported astounding gains in the 4th quarter too. I don't remember U-Verse's numbers, but Verizon's net adds were 303,000 - right in line with DirecTV. I wonder how much of this was in anticipation of the OTA analog shut-off - people not wanting to get caught short, so they signed up for pay tv service.

I'm interested to see how the cable companies did during the same time. It's possible that these gains came at the expense of traditional cable.


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## LameLefty (Sep 29, 2006)

Piratefan98 said:


> No doubt about it .... from a financial standpoint, the company is really kicking butt. Now, if they'd just spend a little of that profit at the negotiating table, I'd be happy. :lol:
> 
> Jeff


Forget the negotiating table - this means that they are still in good shape to send the the last progress payment/delivery fee to Boeing around the middle of the year for D12, along with whatever cash (on the order of $70M +/- ) to ILS to launch it. At that point, when they don't have to play pick-and-choose to fill only a dozen HD channel slots, the floodgates should open like they did with D10.


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## smiddy (Apr 5, 2006)

Nice!


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

jpl said:


> I'm interested to see how the cable companies did during the same time. It's possible that these gains came at the expense of traditional cable.


Cablevision, here in NY, ran what I consider to be a very "sleazy" FUD campaign re: the transition. It showed the TV screen turning to snow on 2/17 and warns that you need to call Cablevision before then to make sure this doesn't happen to you. /steve


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## WestDC (Feb 9, 2008)

jpl said:


> I believe you're right. Both U-Verse and FiOS also reported astounding gains in the 4th quarter too. I don't remember U-Verse's numbers, but Verizon's net adds were 303,000 - right in line with DirecTV. I wonder how much of this was in anticipation of the OTA analog shut-off - people not wanting to get caught short, so they signed up for pay tv service.
> 
> I'm interested to see how the cable companies did during the same time. It's possible that these gains came at the expense of traditional cable.


Make you wonder if the numbers were counted twice--Verzion is a D* reseller. over it's Fios network.


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## Albie (Jan 26, 2007)

WestDC said:


> Make you wonder if the numbers were counted twice--Verzion is a D* reseller. over it's Fios network.


I believe those were FIOS only numbers


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## abierce512 (Sep 8, 2008)

So those great numbers for them equals price increase for us next month.


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

I don't think the two are related.


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## Jhon69 (Mar 28, 2006)

denvertrakker said:


> My bet is on a continued downturn, followed by Charlie blaming "the economy" - which he's been doing since _before_ the financial crisis.
> 
> Couldn't be the horrendous, arrogant customer service, Charlie, could it?:sure:
> 
> Ex-E* subscriber, now loving my D*


Well it is a proven fact the best DirecTV subscribers are previous Dish subscribers.:sure:


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## Ken S (Feb 13, 2007)

abierce512 said:


> So those great numbers for them equals price increase for us next month.


Yes, it does. If price increases (2008) get them more subscribers they will feel free to continue to increase prices.


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

Ok, conference call time. I kicked a guy out of my cube so hopefully he'll stay away and I can blog the good stuff. As always I try my best with this. Should have full transcript on seeking alpha in a few hours.


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

Chase is on.

Happy of course with their results and despite their competitors having problems due to the economy and other factors but they continue to do well, especially with new offers they have made.

Really emphasized much of their sub growth due to quality subscribers and advanced product.
Churn, same thing and now *half of their subs have an advanced produc*t (HD and/or DVR).

Mentioned putting in HD DVR box in homes instead of an SD DVR so that an HD upgrade wouldn't require a new box or visit. (R22? no details, could be just putting in HR boxes in homes instead, which is part of their long term goal anyway)


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

Update on advanced products for current customers is high which is driving up profits and average spent.


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

Pat is up.

Subscribers, pleased with very strong demand for DirecTV. 6% increase despite competition from FIOS and Uverse, best results in 15 months. Last time they grew so much was before their tighter credit policies. Dealers also helping a lot.

Overall quality subs is high. 55-60% are now signing up for HD/DVR services. Now over half of all their subs have HD and/or DVR services.


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

Involuntary churn way down due to tighter credit policies.

Their increase was over 50% more then FIOS and Uverse combined from 3rd to 4th quarter. Seems like the telco's are taking subs more from cable and Dish then they are from DirecTV.


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## Matt9876 (Oct 11, 2007)

A lot of this expansion is due to SWM,Well to do cable customers can now have the best HD/DVR around.

SWM should just be the way thing will be done from now on.


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

ARPU talk. It's down a bit.

Lower setup box costs is allowing them to offer more free boxes.
They also really jacketed up their offers to gain more market share.
Also started a new long term customer loyalty program.

{Lots more financial stuff}


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

More aggressive movers program since it costs less to keep a customer that moves then to sign up a new sub.

They've been spending more money on dish and other hardware (non receiver) upgrades due to the high uptake in HD.


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

Chase up.

3 priorities.

1) Continue to add to their leadership. New sat this year for more HD. VOD will expand and get faster and better. More enrichment on the DVR like Quick tune.

*Whole Home Experience rolling out 2nd half of the year!*
{I read this as MRV at the least}

2) Sign up more high quality subs and expand with AT&T. Mobility expansion with telcos (no further details).

3) Need to really better their customer service including installers.


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## Steve615 (Feb 5, 2006)

bonscott87 said:


> Involuntary churn way down due to tighter credit policies.
> 
> Their increase was over 50% more then FIOS and Uverse combined from 3rd to 4th quarter. *Seems like the telco's are taking subs more from cable and Dish then they are from DirecTV.*


The local telco in my area,DTC Communications,began offering IPTV on a distance limited basis a few months ago...I am eligible to receive their service,based on the distance factor.
One of the local office managers calls me once a month,trying to sell me on it.
The last time he called,I told him I would consider it when they had 100+ HD channels to offer in their lineup.
He asked why would I wait for such a "crazy number of HD channels"...I told him that I'm not,I have DirecTV. :sure:


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

Getting lean and mean with capital projects and staff just in case.

Continue to see growth like they had in 2008. Expect somewhat higher sub growth and higher ARPU.

SAC costs should be similar but lower.

Programming costs going up 5-6%. {And there is why our packages going up $3 bucks}


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

Steve615 said:


> The local telco in my area,DTC Communications,began offering IPTV on a distance limited basis a few months ago...I am eligible to receive their service,based on the distance factor.
> One of the local office managers calls me once a month,trying to sell me on it.
> The last time he called,I told him I would consider it when they had 100+ HD channels to offer in their lineup.
> He asked why would I wait for such a "crazy number of HD channels"...I told him that I'm not,I have DirecTV. :sure:


And that was his quote, not mine. I'm trying to put my own personal comments in {braces}


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

Q&A now. Hopefully we'll get more then just boring numbers questions.


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## Steve615 (Feb 5, 2006)

bonscott87 said:


> And that was his quote, not mine. I'm trying to put my own personal comments in {braces}


Just expanding on the talk about the telcos taking more of cable's and Dish's business,that's all. :grin:


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

Just some Liberty talk, nothing interesting.

Question on the wireless/telco deals: He doesn't have much detail, just a general comment as more and more people go wireless for media experience. Looking for richer content like the DVR scheduler. Very early days {but they have it on their radar basically} and they are looking to expand their relationships. Mobility becomes a more important and value added. 

Mentioned more and more people going wireless only and cutting the land line.


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

Steve615 said:


> Just expanding on the talk about the telcos taking more of cable's and Dish's business,that's all. :grin:


Yep, no problem. I just wanted to clarify that it wasn't my opinion (which it is) but it's what he said.


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

Question on getting more of their share from Dish and cable, where is it more coming from?

He says it is both but doesn't want to get into specifics. It's relatively balanced. {I think he's trying really hard not to slam someone.}


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

Question on uptake on VOD:
Still early days and they just started it up. Want to improve the experience and easier to use. Not a huge thing and not big enough to drive anything financially. Maybe in a couple years it starts having an impact.


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## Jhon69 (Mar 28, 2006)

Great Job Scott!.Just kick Dilbert out of the cube.:goodjob::kickbutt:


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

Question on if they need to license Sling for their mobility:
Sling is a niche product and has some issues and what do people really want. Do they really want to watch a 2 hour movie on a cell phone? They are looking to make it all an integrated content so that it's just another screen they are used to. He's thinking that Sling has issues when you scale it up. Most of what they want to do is more sales and marketing at first.

Also question about Charter going bankrupt and Comcast all digital, opportunities there?
Yes, opportunities for them to target those markets like with Adelphia. Also like they targeting the digital OTA transition. They are always looking for opportunities.


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## smiddy (Apr 5, 2006)

Too kewl bonscott87, as always sir, thanks!


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

Question on churn, being that a lot of first year new sub deals are ending and the coming rate increase, are they comfortable that churn won't go up because of this?

Still going to have aggressive offers in this economy but they aren't going back to spend on offers like they did in 07 but they want to tighten up a bit. Looking to stabilize in 09 with constant offers and such. Economy will certainly impact in places and credits they give out reflect that. Target those credits to their best and most valued customers.


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

smiddy said:


> Too kewl bonscott87, as always sir, thanks!


No problem. And I've helped 4 end users during all this as well. I can type like pretty fast if I need to.


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

*Question on Home Home DVR!* More details on that requested including cost.

Initial phase (there will be multiple) will not change SAC. Software to speak to each other. MRV. Example that 2 HD boxes can access what is on your HD DVR. Software upgrade for boxes to share with each other. Then refine that during 09.

Then in 2010 to roll out new hardware like a home server with slaves throughout the home.

But initial focus this year is to work all year on the experience and get it where it needs to be. {CE'er will be busy!}


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

Question on programming costs:

Nothing much new but it keeps going up and sports and retrans issues.
They hope to benefit of their growth and size and getting their contracts down to where they want them.
More challenging contracts should be behind them but there are some more coming like the O&O reup.


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

Another question on the whole home network system via SWM:

SWM is important and used for most the more advanced installs. Many HD installs now get it. Will continue to expand for new installs and to get communication thru the home. Want to really test it more and get the bugs out before they really roll it out widely. But it will marry up well with the whole home experience {MRV over coax via the SWM?}


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

And with that the call is over!


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

Thank you, Scott, as always!


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## RAD (Aug 5, 2002)

bonscott87 said:


> Another question on the whole home network system via SWM:
> 
> SWM is important and used for most the more advanced installs. Many HD installs now get it. Will continue to expand for new installs and to get communication thru the home. Want to really test it more and get the bugs out before they really roll it out widely. But it will marry up well with the whole home experience {MRV over coax via the SWM?}


Yea, that response really has me confused.:scratch:


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## Sixto (Nov 18, 2005)

bonscott87 said:


> Another question on the whole home network system via SWM:
> 
> SWM is important and used for most the more advanced installs. Many HD installs now get it. Will continue to expand for new installs and to get communication thru the home. Want to really test it more and get the bugs out before they really roll it out widely. But it will marry up well with the whole home experience {MRV over coax via the SWM?}


he certainly related the two (MRV/SWM) but not sure he understood the question ...


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

Some key takes off the top of my head:

1) DirecTV keeps on growing along with the Telcos. Dish and cable are hurting at their expense.

2) Whole Home DVR/experience was talked about heavily and appears to be their next big technology push.

3) MRV will be a big push this year and will be in testing and refinement thru the end of the year. Lots of work for the CE program to define how this will all look and work. Exciting times.

4) Interesting possibility of the whole home system working thru the coax and SWM. Very interesting. Possible he was confused so I wouldn't read a whole lot into that other then making it easier to get "slaves"/clients in more rooms that can access the server.


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## Steve615 (Feb 5, 2006)

bonscott87 said:


> And with that the call is over!


Many thanks for the live blogging Scott...fantastic work indeed.


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## mhayes70 (Mar 21, 2006)

Sixto said:


> he certainly related the two (MRV/SWM) but not sure he understood the question ...


Yeah, that was kind of an interesting response.


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

And no mention of Tivo at all either by DirecTV directly or via any question. Once again nobody views this as a big deal to DirecTV's bottom line for good or ill.


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## loudo (Mar 24, 2005)

Great job Scott, Thanks


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## LameLefty (Sep 29, 2006)

bonscott87 said:


> Another question on the whole home network system via SWM:
> 
> SWM is important and used for most the more advanced installs. Many HD installs now get it. Will continue to expand for new installs and to get communication thru the home. Want to really test it more and get the bugs out before they really roll it out widely. But it will marry up well with the whole home experience {MRV over coax via the SWM?}


MoCA.

http://www.mocalliance.org/en/index.asp

Heh. Something I've suspected ever since I heard about SWM.


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## Jhon69 (Mar 28, 2006)

bonscott87 said:


> Some key takes off the top of my head:
> 
> 1) DirecTV keeps on growing along with the Telcos. Dish and cable are hurting at their expense.
> 
> ...


Which shouldn't be a surprise with DirecTV now AT&T's choice also.:sure:


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## Sixto (Nov 18, 2005)

bonscott87 said:


> And no mention of Tivo at all either by DirecTV directly or via any question. Once again nobody views this as a big deal to DirecTV's bottom line for good or ill.


I was so hoping that the last guy was going to ask when he wanted more detail on MRV, but no he went down the SWM path. Still thinking Chase was just saying that SWM makes it easier to put boxes in the home to cause MRV to be more valuable. But he could have been referring to MRV over SWM. Wasn't specific. And then that was last question. Oh well.


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## Tom Robertson (Nov 15, 2005)

Awesome job, Scott! That is a fantastic job going a live blog (always an interesting task.)

Thanks,
Tom


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## Erocwolverine (Jan 19, 2007)

Well I guess we should ASSume something with all that profit and subs they are getting? 

I guess DirecTV is looking at this like we raise prices and still raise subs ... so why not keep doing it.

I know it is a business and all and the name of the game is to make money, but when people are hurting like they are would be nice to see somebody give the normal people a break once in a blue moon.

Like more HD Channels that are actually in HD and not just throw channels up and say they are HD and they are not.

The bad thing is with the price increase I am tapped out ... I cannot go any higher with my bill (95.00) ... I remember back in the day when it was 29.99 for Primestar back in the day. I just cannot see spending over 100.00 for tv anymore especially with the economy the way it is and how it has effected myself.

So looks like DirecTV will lose a little bit of my money, but I am sure they do not care because it sounds like they are keep growing and will just make that money and then some ... with the new subs.


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## Tom Robertson (Nov 15, 2005)

LameLefty said:


> MoCA.
> 
> http://www.mocalliance.org/en/index.asp
> 
> Heh. Something I've suspected ever since I heard about SWM.


And became more interesting when DIRECTV became a member of MoCA...


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## Sixto (Nov 18, 2005)

Was also interesting that he referred to programming costs going up 5-6% per year. "Obviously, our largest cost!".

He chuckled that he just saw that Dish Network just finished their Fox News HD roll-out, and that was one of the more difficult negotiations for DirecTV. Thought he was going to reference ESPNU but didn't.


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## RAD (Aug 5, 2002)

Chase also mentioned that for the whole house solution for 2009 it would be software upgrades to existing boxes but for 2010 it would be upgraded hardware with a server and client base more tuned for that function.


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## Jhon69 (Mar 28, 2006)

Erocwolverine said:


> Well I guess we should ASSume something with all that profit and subs they are getting?
> 
> I guess DirecTV is looking at this like we raise prices and still raise subs ... so why not keep doing it.
> 
> ...


The issue with the HD is a programmer issue not the provider.


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## Sixto (Nov 18, 2005)

geez, two analysts ask about MRV, one specifically asks about SWM with MRV, and no one thinks to ask about TiVo ... geez ... yep, usually it's just a financial call but why the heck ask about "SWM-8" ... the guy actually used the phrase "SWM-8" ... but no reference to TiVo ... we wait until 3/2/2009.


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## Sixto (Nov 18, 2005)

He also spent several minutes dancing around the Liberty relationship. Didn't give the impression that Liberty has a major influence (yet).


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## Nighthawk68 (Oct 14, 2004)

Thanks Scott, great to be able read it "live"


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## davidatl14 (Mar 24, 2006)

Interesting stuff.

Thanks for the yeoman efforts Scott.

Much appreciated.


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

RAD said:


> Chase also mentioned that for the whole house solution for 2009 it would be software upgrades to existing boxes but for 2010 it would be upgraded hardware with a server and client base more tuned for that function.


Yep, he mentioned it was going to be in phases.

Phase 1 is already in testing actually, MRV (the software upgrade) from box to box. They intend to spend all of this year getting this part right and getting feedback to get the UI and the experience the way it needs to be.

Then Phase 2 is the new hardware in a server/client type structure ("or something like that" as he said). No further details stated on that, I would expect more probably at the 4th quarter call or maybe something at CES 2010 assuming they attend next year.


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## Sixto (Nov 18, 2005)

Chase tends to really try to answer every question. At length. 

Just need the right questions


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

Sixto said:



> He also spent several minutes dancing around the Liberty relationship. Didn't give the impression that Liberty has a major influence (yet).


And my guess is that if DirecTV keeps on doing this well Liberty may very well just keep hands off. Many times the actual owner has little to no influence on the companies it owns. It's just a profit center (hopefully) for the owner.

Even Murdoch now regrets selling DirecTV and wishes he hadn't. Funny how nice the "turd bird" smells now.


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## Button Pusher (Jan 19, 2007)

Great job, Scott! Thanks for keeping us informed.


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## Sixto (Nov 18, 2005)

Would have been nice to keep hitting *1 to ask a question ...

"So Chase, congratulations on another great quarter. Seems like DirecTV's goal of being the HD leader is a sucesssful business model. You mentioned another satellite launching later this year, which brings your capacity to 200 national HD channels. How many HD channels do you actually expect to deliver to each home by year-end 2009 and how much of a competitive advantage do you believe that provides?"

and after he answers, then slip in another ...

"Thank you Chase for that thoughtful detailed answer of how you expect to have 160+ national HD channels delivered to each home by year-end 2009 including the HBO/Cinemax Premiums, ESPNU, and the Travel Channel HD, because that will make xxxx, xxxx, and xxxx at DBSTalk very happy. One last question, do you expect to ship a new HD TiVo box in calendar year 2009. Thanks Chase, that's it for now and I'll listen to your reply."


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## anubys (Jan 19, 2006)

did they mention DLB?


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## RAD (Aug 5, 2002)

bonscott87 said:


> Phase 1 is already in testing actually, MRV (the software upgrade) from box to box. They intend to spend all of this year getting this part right and getting feedback to get the UI and the experience the way it needs to be.


He never did mention HD DVR <-> HD DVR for MRV, just HD DVR -> HD STB, sure hope DVR to DVR is phase 1.5.


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## Sixto (Nov 18, 2005)

anubys said:


> did they mention DLB?


the senior analyst from the biggest wall street firm neglected to slip that question in.


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## RAD (Aug 5, 2002)

anubys said:


> did they mention DLB?


Nope. FYI, for all the calls I've listened to there is usally no 'techie' type talk going on, just financial questions and if it's something about hardware/software it's how will this effect the $'s. So I really wouldn't expect DLB to be mentioned on this call.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

Sixto said:


> the senior analyst from the biggest wall street firm neglected to slip that question in.


No wonder they needed a bailout....slackers...all of them....


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## Sixto (Nov 18, 2005)

RAD said:


> He never did mention HD DVR <-> HD DVR for MRV, just HD DVR -> HD STB, sure hope DVR to DVR is phase 1.5.


he just said "as an example" ... confidently believe it's in 2009.


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## Sixto (Nov 18, 2005)

RAD said:


> Nope. FYI, for all the calls I've listened to there is usally no 'techie' type talk going on, just financial questions and if it's something about hardware/software it's how will this effect the $'s. So I really wouldn't expect DLB to be mentioned on this call.


yep, that's why the "SWM-8" reference was out of the ordinary.


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## RandCfilm (Aug 17, 2006)

bonscott87 said:


> Another question on the whole home network system via SWM:
> 
> SWM is important and used for most the more advanced installs. Many HD installs now get it. Will continue to expand for new installs and to get communication thru the home. Want to really test it more and get the bugs out before they really roll it out widely. But it will marry up well with the whole home experience *{MRV over coax via the SWM?}*


Since you brought it up. If over coax should be MoCA since there already is a properties setting in the file system.

[Edit]
Sorry LameLefty, I guess I should have read the entire thread before I posted the MoCA link also.


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## dreadlk (Sep 18, 2007)

Exactly!
This is the year for HDTV sales so it follows that Directv will do better as people look for source material for their new TV's



hdtvfan0001 said:


> Their HDTV....


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## Mertzen (Dec 8, 2006)

Why not send some of this glorious HD cash to the techs. Oh wait no, that wouldn't be good business.


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## JMII (Jan 19, 2008)

dreadlk said:


> Exactly!
> This is the year for HDTV sales so it follows that Directv will do better as people look for source material for their new TV's


My parents finally upgraded to HDTV this year. I think the whole analog shut off thing did help push some people that were on the fence. Also prices in the LCD/Plasma market have stabilized and Blu-Ray is gaining ground so everything is coming together nicely. Its amazing in such market Circuit City has tanked, but maybe people finally wised up to the fact that they don't need $100 HDMI cables so that alone could have cut massively into CC's profits :grin:


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## Dolly (Jan 30, 2007)

Thanks Scott for the great job  However, since I'm older than dirt my memory is failing me. I can't remember what D*'s customer number was before the 4Q? So I can't add the number of new subs to the old number because I don't have it. To try and cut to the chase (no pun intended) how many customers does D* have now?


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## dcowboy7 (May 23, 2008)

Dolly said:


> To try and cut to the chase (no pun intended) how many customers does D* have now?


The satellite operator's 301,000 net adds in the U.S. -- giving it 17.621 million subs at the close of 2008.


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## Dolly (Jan 30, 2007)

dcowboy7 said:


> The satellite operator's 301,000 net adds in the U.S. -- giving it 17.621 million subs at the close of 2008.


Thanks :sunsmile: Go D* :hurah:


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## denvertrakker (Feb 6, 2009)

JMII said:


> Its amazing in such market Circuit City has tanked, but maybe people finally wised up to the fact that they don't need $100 HDMI cables so that alone could have cut massively into CC's profits :grin:


No, people are still falling for that line.

Circuit's downfall began several years ago, when they came up with the brilliant idea of firing all of their best salespeople because "they were making too much money" - an effort to emulate Best Buy, whose sales staff is salaried, not commission. As someone in the industry said, regarding Circuit's death throes, "You can't out-Best Buy Best Buy".


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## Sixto (Nov 18, 2005)

The complete transcript from today:http://seekingalpha.com/article/119...-inc-q4-2008-earnings-call-transcript?page=-1​


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## Sixto (Nov 18, 2005)

"I think swim will be a central part of sort of the whole home experience. It clearly enhances the ability to move content around in the home and so yes the two do come together"


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

RandCfilm said:


> Since you brought it up. If over coax should be MoCA since there already is a properties setting in the file system.


It has been pointed out that MoCA conflicts with at least one of the SWM channels.


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## MikeW (May 16, 2002)

This is the first I've read about SWM doing anything but bringing the signal from the dish to the reciever. Was it simply a mis-statement or is there really something to this?


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## ahintz (Jan 14, 2007)

Thanks for the live blogging - sounds like DirecTV is in good shape to continue pushing the customer experience. 2009 should be an interesting year.


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## scott72 (Feb 17, 2008)

MikeW said:


> This is the first I've read about SWM doing anything but bringing the signal from the dish to the reciever. Was it simply a mis-statement or is there really something to this?


I sure hope they are going to be connected. Sure would make things simple for those of us that are already using a SWM.


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## jacmyoung (Sep 9, 2006)

A few observations:

1) Let's not forget D*'s profit in Q4 was actually down due to higher sub acquisition and interest cost. Not a bad thing as you add more new subs, the cost will go up, but it was interesting this point was left out.

2) I tend to agree with some of you the talk about SWM and MRV was in terms of easiness to install multiple advanced HD and HD DVR boxes, which will translate into easy adaptation of MRV. Not much as using coax for MRV.

3) No mentioning of HR/HR MRV, in fact the mentioning of the new HD DVR server/client in 2010 leads to the initial presentation slides about a year ago. My bet is more on no HR/HR MRV than before, not impossible just less likely. HR/H MRV in 2009, new server/client MRV in 2010.

4) I began to think no mentioning of TiVo because D* told everyone not to ask such questions More indication that the new TiVo plan may not materialize.


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## CorpITGuy (Apr 12, 2007)

jacmyoung said:


> 4) I began to think no mentioning of TiVo because D* told everyone not to ask such questions More indication that the new TiVo plan may not materialize.


Yep. The TiVO deal must be dead or on the back-burner.


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## Steve615 (Feb 5, 2006)

Sixto said:


> The complete transcript from today:http://seekingalpha.com/article/119...-inc-q4-2008-earnings-call-transcript?page=-1​


Thanks for the link Sixto.


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## sorahl (Oct 24, 2002)

so i guess my question is how do I get my house converted to SWM ahead of time?

John


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## Ken S (Feb 13, 2007)

sorahl said:


> so i guess my question is how do I get my house converted to SWM ahead of time?
> 
> John


Buy an SWM module and install it?


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## sorahl (Oct 24, 2002)

i thought DirecTv would do that..


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## RAD (Aug 5, 2002)

sorahl said:


> i thought DirecTv would do that..


AFAIK, DirecTV only will use the SWMLNB for a NEW installation and nobody's getting a SWM8, those are only used on MDU installs.


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## prushing (Feb 14, 2007)

sorahl said:


> i thought DirecTv would do that..


You can do what I did and switch out a non DVR unit for a DVR. Tell them you can't run another wire and have to have SWM. I told them to note the install that I needed SWM. Then when the installer called, I asked him if he had the SWM as I had to have that. He had to go back to the warehouse to get, but I got SWM installed.


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## sorahl (Oct 24, 2002)

well as long as NOT having SWM is not a hold up for the whole house server...


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

sorahl said:


> well as long as NOT having SWM is not a hold up for the whole house server...


I would highly doubt it. It all works now with a standard home network and would continue to do so. Using SWM to "network" all the receivers would just be an easier way for those that don't have a home network (probably most people).


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## sorahl (Oct 24, 2002)

ah then I'm ok  as I have two wired networks through the house, and 2 Wireless networks as well


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