Directv Company

Federal regulators on Monday approved a long-pending deal allowing News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch to swap his controlling interest in satellite broadcaster DirecTV Group Inc. for a larger stake in his own company. News Corp.'s 38.4% stake in El Segundo-based DirecTV goes to former cable executive John Malone and his holding company Liberty Media Corp. Liberty also gets $550 million in cash and Fox's regional cable sports networks in Seattle, Denver and Pittsburgh in exchange for its 16.

Telecommunications giant AT&T Inc. said Friday that it had agreed to market and sell DirecTV's service beginning early next year, a move that could give the nation's largest satellite provider a considerable leg up over its struggling rival, Dish Network. Under the agreement, AT&T will begin offering DirecTV as part of its Advanced TV service after Jan. 31, when AT&T's current agreement with Dish Network expires.

LAST week wasn't a great one for NBC, which saw its fall lineup, including the premiere of a new spin on the old car caper "Knight Rider" and the return of the onetime hit "Heroes," stumble in the ratings. Whatever happens, though, NBC Entertainment co-Chairman Ben Silverman has already delivered on an important part of what could ultimately prove his legacy at NBC: Hurling a Hail Mary pass to save the low-rated but critically acclaimed fan favorite “Friday Night Lights.

So here's the deal. You can watch NFL games every Sunday afternoon on CBS and Fox, every Sunday night on NBC. That's kind of the old-fashioned way, accepting what the networks give you, but it doesn't cost anything extra. For the estimated 98 million people in the country who get ESPN as part of basic cable, they also get "Monday Night Football." Plus, at this time of year you also get Saturday football on the networks plus all the pregame and postgame shows full of analysis and NFL chatter.

DirecTV Group Inc. said a new program about a video-game tournament would be available to more than 100 million homes worldwide. DirecTV is in "final discussions" with British Sky Broadcasting and Hong Kong-based Star Asia to air "Championship Gaming Series," the El Segundo-based company said.

DirecTV Group Inc. isn't talking about a possible merger with smaller rival EchoStar Communications Corp. "Let me be clear on where we are today -- there aren't any discussions," DirecTV Chief Executive Charles "Chase" Carey said at an analyst conference in Las Vegas. DirecTV's shares would be worth about $25 each if the company merged with EchoStar, Barron's magazine said Dec. 2, citing Templeton Investments analyst Matthew Nagle. Shares of El Segundo-based DirecTV fell 14 cents to $24.

DirecTV Group Inc. will raise subscription prices by almost 4% on average, aiming to boost revenue yet remain competitive with cable alternatives. The increase will take effect March 1, said the El Segundo-based satellite television provider, which has 15.7 million subscribers. DirecTV's average subscriber paid $72.74 a month for the service in last year's third quarter, the company reported. By limiting price increases, DirecTV aims to boost sales even as cable operators such as Comcast Corp.

Red Sox Nation has spoken. A pending deal by Major League Baseball to put its Extra Innings pay package exclusively on DirecTV may have to be put on hold now, buffeted by an uprising involving baseball's most ardent fans, spearheaded by those who live and die with the Boston Red Sox. MLB expected to announce the deal as early as next week, but that was less certain after Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) on Thursday asked the Federal Communications Commission to investigate the matter.

Satellite TV company DirecTV Group Inc. was ordered not to broadcast ads in which Jessica Simpson or William Shatner tout the company's high-definition service as superior to Time Warner Cable's. Time Warner Inc.'s cable unit sued in December, claiming that El Segundo-based DirecTV engaged in false advertising on television and the Internet. Stamford, Conn.-based Time Warner Cable, the second-largest U.S.

DirecTV Group Inc., the nation's largest satellite TV operator, said Wednesday that its fourth-quarter earnings more than doubled as its subscriber base grew and it changed from selling set-top boxes to leasing them. The company also said it was still on track to offer 100 high-definition channels by the end of the year, despite damage done to a key satellite launch platform this month.