Hughes Transitions to DirecTV Name

[Gregg Lengling]

As expected, Hughes Electronics changed its name to "The DirecTV Group," a move made official Tuesday.

In addition, the company changed its ticker symbol on the New York Stock Exchange to "DTV," from the current "HS" symbol, and will commence trading under the new name and symbol today.

Said President and CEO Chase Carey, "The future of this company is centered on DirecTV and DirecTV will drive both our strategy and shareholder value going forward. Our new name better reflects our commitment to building our business around DirecTV."

He added that the DirecTV brand "resonates with consumers and this name change reaffirms and reinforces that our future lies with this business."

Last December, News Corp. completed its acquisition of 34 percent of Hughes common stock, taking over the company from General Motors. The namesake of the Hughes company, Howard Hughes, founded Hughes Aircraft Co. in 1935 and Hughes Space and Communications Co. in 1961.

In another DirecTV note, DirecTV said it renewed its contract with NDS Group, News Corp.'s TV technology arm, for its VideoGuard conditional access system and services to support.