[2/8/07] DirecTV Group Inc. posted a profit of  $1.4 billion on revenues of $14.8 billion, the company announced Feb. 7.
In 2005, DirecTV attributed the revenue gains to subscriber growth at DirecTV U.S. and DirecTV Latin America as well as continued growth in average revenue per user (ARPU) at DirecTV U.S., and the consolidation of the Sky Brazil financial results following the merger with DirecTV Brazil in August.
DirecTV U.S. added 820,000 net subscribers in 2006 to bring its total base to 16 million at the end of the year. The company added 3.8 million gross subscribers on the year, down 9 percent from 2005. The decline was due to the company’s push to add higher-quality subscribers who contribute more ARPU. The push, along with gains in subscribers with high-definition and digital video-recorder services contributed to the reduction in monthly churn from 1.7 percent in 2005 to 1.6 percent in 2006.
DirecTV U.S. revenues increased 13 percent to $13.7 billion due to the ARPU growth and a larger subscriber base. ARPU of $73.74 increased nearly 6 percent over 2006, principally due to programming package price increases, higher lease fees, improved NFL Sunday ticket revenues  and higher service fees for high-definition and digital video-recorder services.
DirecTV Latin America added 249,000 net subscribers in 2006, up 67 percent from 2005 due to growth throughout through the region and a decline in aggregate churn from 1.7 percent to 1.5 percent. Revenue jumped 37 percent to $1 billion due to the consolidation of Sky Brazil’s operations and subscriber growth, partially offset by lower revenue at DirecTV Mexico due to the sale of its subscribers in 2005.