Washington, D.C. (September 23, 2011) -- DIRECTV yesterday said it has reversed a temporary decline in subscriber growth, calling the current third quarter numbers "very, very good."

"We're very pleased with the trends we've seen with gross adds and subscriber churn," DIRECTV CEO Mike White told a financial conference, according to Reuters.

DIRECTV last month reported that it gained just 26,000 subscribers in the second quarter, the satcaster's lower quarterly gain in history and significantly below the Wall Street consensus projection of 57,000.

The news seemed to stun industry analysts who have praised DIRECTV's subscription efforts in recent months. The company has been able to add 100,000 subs or more per quarter during the bad economy while their rivals have sometimes reported six figure losses.

DIRECTV officials last month expressed concern with the customer's churn rate -- the number of people who drop the service. But White said yesterday that the current churn rate is "excellent."

The DIRECTV CEO cited the satcaster's decision to give away a subscription to the NFL Sunday Ticket to new customers as a reason for the upswing in subscriber growth.
 

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