DirecTV Lays Off 10% of Management as More Subscribers Leave for Streaming
Satellite TV provider DirecTV is laying off 10% of its management ranks in a move seen as a response to a shift in consumers’ choosing streaming services and moving away from paid linear television.
About half of the company’s 10,000 employees are managers and the impacted employees’ last day will be Jan. 20, CNBC reported.
A spokesperson for DirecTV issued a statement, saying that “the entire pay-TV industry is impacted by the secular decline and the increasing rates to secure and distribute programming.”
“We’re adjusting our operations costs to align with these changes and will continue to invest in new entertainment products and service enhancements,” the spokesperson said.
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Customers have left behind paid linear TV and flocked en masse to streaming services. YouTube took over the rights to broadcast NFL’s “Sunday Ticket” following the 2022 season and will broadcast out-of-market games following the 2023 season.
El Segundo, Calif.-based DirecTV had been under AT&T ownership but the telecom giant spun it off as a private company in August 2021. In addition to offering satellite TV, DirecTV operates a streaming service in DirecTV Stream.
Satellite TV companies including DirecTV and Dish have lost the most subscribers in recent years within pay-TV. As a private company, DirecTV no longer provides data on its subscriber count, but it’s believed to be about 13 million, CNBC reported citing analysts and inside sources.
Per ratings agency Fitch, DirecTV’s customer base was down 500,000 in the most recent quarter. The loss of subscribers peaked as high as 17% during that time, CNBC reported citing MoffettNathanson.
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