Directv Company

DirecTV Group Inc. said it planned to roll out various products in 2006, including its DirecTV 2Go service for portable media players and a high-definition digital video recorder. Starting in the first quarter, El Segundo-based DirecTV, which is about 34% owned by News Corp., will offer customers programs from NBC and cable networks USA, Sci Fi and Bravo within hours after they air.

DirecTV Group Inc., the El Segundo-based satellite television company controlled by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., may spend as much as $1 billion to get into high-speed Internet access. News Corp. and DirecTV are considering options such as partnerships to sell Internet service, Murdoch said Monday at a Citigroup media conference in Phoenix. "You'll be hearing from us within two months on a very clear plan what will happen, and it's not as expensive as you might think," Murdoch said.

DirecTV Group Inc., the biggest U.S. satellite television provider, on Wednesday became the latest to say it would offer a package of channels aimed at weeding out programming that might be inappropriate for children. The biggest cable companies, including Comcast Corp. and Time Warner Inc., have announced packages designed to please families, lawmakers and regulators who are worried about sexual and profane material on television.

As chairman and chief executive of Fox Sports Television Group, David Hill has thrown the industry a few curveballs. He gave the hockey puck a neon glow so viewers could see it better on the TV screen. Then, he made first-down lines yellow in pro football games. Perhaps his biggest consumer-friendly innovation is the "Fox box" -- now a fixture across TV sports -- an on-screen reminder of the score and the time remaining.

DirecTV Group Inc., the nation's largest satellite TV provider, returned to a fourth-quarter profit as modest subscriber growth helped lift revenue. The company, based in El Segundo, also said that it continued efforts to offer high-speed Internet service to customers, including the possibility of working with rival satellite provider EchoStar Communications Inc. on a wireless broadband offering. DirecTV, which is controlled by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., reported net income of $121.

EarthLink Inc. said Monday that it would offer DirecTV satellite television service in a bundled option in select markets across the United States. The Atlanta-based Internet service provider said the offer would begin by the end of the first quarter. It did not say in which markets the option would be available or offer any pricing details. Atlanta-based BellSouth Corp., the dominant local telephone provider in nine southeastern states, also has a partnership with DirecTV Inc.

DirecTV Group Inc., the largest U.S. satellite-television provider, will buy 100 million shares of its stock from General Motors Corp.'s employee benefit plans. The General Motors Special Hourly Employees Pension Trust, the General Motors Special Salaried Employees Pension Trust and the Sub-Trust of the General Motors Welfare Benefit Trust will receive $15.50 a share in cash, DirecTV said. Shares of the El Segundo company, a former GM unit, rose 12 cents to $15.80.

Shares of TiVo Inc. rose 8% on Wednesday after the digital video recording pioneer announced it had extended a partnership with satellite TV provider DirecTV Group Inc. for an additional three years. Under the agreement, DirecTV will continue to provide TiVo service to its existing subscribers. Both companies also extended their advertising relationship and agreed not to assert patent rights against each other. The extension is good news for TiVo: 2.8 million of TiVo's 4.

DirecTV Group Inc., the nation's largest satellite TV company, returned to a profit in the first quarter as stricter credit policies led to higher earnings per subscriber. The company, based in El Segundo, said Thursday that it earned $235.2 million, or 17 cents a share, for the three months ended March 31, contrasted with a loss of $41.4 million, or 3 cents, a year earlier. Revenue grew 8% to $3.39 billion from $3.15 billion.

Advertising is the lifeblood of TV networks. But for the 40 or so channels that are reserved for nonprofit programmers on the nation's satellite television services, commercials are a no-no. At least they're supposed to be. Under an 8-year-old rule that Congress designed to increase educational fare on satellite, DirecTV and rival Dish Network, owned by EchoStar Communications Corp.