A DirecTV technician working in an apartment complex in Lynnwood, California.
Patrick T. Fallon | Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
DirecTV is laying off hundreds of employees (about 10% of senior management), according to people familiar with the matter.
Most of the job cuts are at the management level, said the people, citing an email to employees sent Friday. About half of DirecTV’s fewer than 10,000 employees are managers, according to one of his sources. The last day for affected employees is January 20th.
A DirecTV spokesperson said in a statement, “The entire pay-TV industry has been impacted by a long-term decline and rising fees for program acquisition and distribution.” and will continue to invest in enhancing new entertainment products and services.”
DirecTV will become a private company in 2021. AT&T It has struck a deal with private equity firm TPG to spin off DirecTV and related businesses. The company was valued at $16.5 billion at the time. AT&T assumed the debt in 2015 when he acquired DirecTV for his $48.5 billion.
DirecTV and its peers have long been under pressure for customers to cut the cord and choose streaming services. Cord cut rates accelerated in the third quarter, according to MoffettNathanson.
DirecTV and plate In particular, it saw the highest decline in pay-TV subscribers in recent years. DirecTV no longer publicly reports its subscriber base, but the company has about 13 million customers, according to analyst reports and one of his people familiar with the layoffs.
DirecTV reportedly lost about 500,000 customers in the most recent quarter, according to ratings agency Fitch. DirecTV’s losses slowed during the pandemic, but he’s accelerated to nearly 17% in recent days, according to MoffettNathanson.
In addition to satellite TV, the company also offers DirecTV Stream, an Internet TV bundle. Google’s YouTube TV and Dish’s Sling.
Rural competition is intensifying as broadband and fixed wireless companies build networks in regions where satellite TV providers were once the only TV providers.
Meanwhile, prices for broadcast and cable channels continue to rise. Executives across the industry have cited rising prices as part of the accelerating pay-TV customer loss in recent years.
Additionally, media companies are offering streaming services with content traditionally found on linear TV, such as weekly shows, live events, and sports, further unlocking the value of pay-TV bundles.
DirecTV’s deal recently ended for rights to “Sunday Ticket” packages for the NFL’s off-market Sunday games. The company has held the rights to his “Sunday Ticket” since its inception in 1994, and he was losing about $500 million a year on the package, CNBC previously reported.
The impending layoffs include only a small percentage of employees involved in the “Sunday Ticket,” the people said.
