DirecTV Expands Locals, Sees Solid Sub Growth

[Gregg Lengling]

At CES in Las Vegas, DirecTV announced 18 additional markets that will receive local channels from the satellite TV service sometime this year.

The new cities will join previously announced markets that will be rolled out following the successful launch of the DirecTV 7S spot-beam satellite this quarter. DirecTV said it hopes that by year-end it will have local channels in 130 markets, representing 92 percent of U.S. TV households.

The new market additions are: Boise, Idaho; Burlington, Vt.; Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Champaign-Springfield, Ill.; Chattanooga, Tenn.; Columbia, Mo.; Davenport, Ill.; Evansville, Ind.; Fort Smith, Ark.; Fort Wayne, Ind.; Johnson City, Tenn.; Johnstown-Altoona, Pa., Lincoln, Neb.; Sioux Falls, S.D.; Springfield, Mass.; Springfield, Mo.; Traverse City, Mich.; and Waco, Texas.

To provide capacity for the new markets, the DirecTV 5 satellite will be moved into a Telesat Canada-controlled orbital location at 72.5 degrees. Customers in these new markets, with the exception of Springfield, Mass., will be required to use a second 18-inch dish to receive locals. The satellite move is contingent on Federal Communications Commission approval and the successful launch of DirecTV 7S.

Also, DirecTV and News Corp. said they plan to launch a series of advanced satellites to create additional capacity for the satellite TV service.

Other big CES news came from DirecTV: The company added 405,000 net new owned-and-operated customers during the fourth quarter, a 39 percent increase over fourth quarter 2002 net additions.

For 2003, DirecTV added 1.187 million net new customers. As of Dec. 31, DirecTV had more than 12.2 million customers, including customers in National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative territories.

For more CES news, including developments from DirecTV's main competitor DISH Network, check out SkyRETAILER: http://www.skyretailer.com. Also, check out CES coverage from Cable Retailer, (http://www.cableretailer.com), the new web site devoted to cable at retail from Media Business Corp.