Tighter Credit, Competition Pressure DirecTV

As it nears the conclusion of its planned $48.5 billion merger with AT&T, satellite giant DirecTV said it shed 28,000 net subscribers in the U.S. in the third quarter, primarily because of tighter credit policies and tougher competition.

AT&T announced its intention to acquire DirecTV in May. The deal is expected to close early next year.

DirecTV’s loss is similar to its satellite TV rival, Dish Network, which shed about 12,000 pay TV customers in the period. In addition to the domestic subscriber losses, DirecTV Latin America, the company’s main growth engine of late, also saw a decline in pay TV customers, shedding 119,000 net subscribers in the period.

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