DIRECTV to Debut Streaming Movies in 2Q

News
DIRECTV to Debut Streaming Movies in 2Q
By Swanni

Washington, D.C. (February 29, 2012) -- DIRECTV CFO Patrick Doyle said today that his company will begin offering streaming movies at its web site in the second quarter of this year. DIRECTV subscribers will be able to watch the movies both in and outside the home.

Doyle made the disclosure today at the Morgan Stanley investors conference in San Francisco.

The executive did not say if the streaming movies would require a fee. But Doyle said his company was hoping to soon launch a broader streaming service similar to the new venture just started by Comcast.

(Note: Swanni predicted this last week. This is what Swanni wrote on Feb. 23: "Comcast yesterday unveiled a subscriber-only video streaming service and I predict that DIRECTV will do so as well, perhaps as early as next week." To see more of Swanni's prediction, click here.)

Comcast last week began a subscription streaming video service that will enable its 20 million video customers to instantly view movies and TV shows in and out of the home. The service is available on TV as a subscription Video on Demand folder and via mobile devices such as the iPad and iPhone.

"We think that's an opportunity," Doyle said when asked by a conference moderator about the Comcast service.

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But Doyle said DIRECTV must first persuade more subscribers to connect their set-tops to the Net. As of now, only about 10 percent of the satcaster's subscriber base is connected.

"We're on a mission (to get more set-tops connected)," Doyle said. "We'll continue to build up (our streaming plan) as more people get connected. We have a good library (of content to offer)."

Doyle did not say how many movies would be available for streaming at the company's web site when the streaming service is launched in the second quarter. But like the Comcast service, DIRECTV's streaming movies will only be available to subscribers.

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Phillip Swann is president and publisher of TVPredictions.com. He has been quoted in dozens of publications and broadcast outlets, including CNN, Fox News, Inside Edition, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, The Financial Times, The Associated Press and The Hollywood Reporter. He can be reached at swann@tvpredictions.com or at 703-505-3064.

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