DIRECTV 2003 Annual Report Download - page 5

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near term, we plan to make more investments in satellites and other technologies to help
us attain these goals.
A second key component of our strategy is to provide content that is both compelling and
distinct, and offers our customers the widest range of choice. Leadership provided by
News Corporation and Fox in news, sports and entertainment on both a national and local
level will be critical strengths for establishing DIRECTV’s content leadership. Moreover,
we must do more than simply provide customers with hundreds of channels. Interactivity,
video on demand, specialized content for DVRs, an enhanced electronic program guide
and other innovations will become important aspects of our content offering.
Service excellence must be another hallmark for DIRECTV. While DIRECTV is recognized
as a leader in customer service, we still have much room for improvement. Our call
centers, installers, Web sites and other services can—
and will—be much better. At DIRECTV, we will make
service excellence a goal second to none.
We also have critical challenges in sales and marketing,
and we look to bring new energy and enhancements to
each of DIRECTV’s operating areas. These initiatives will
emphasize not only growth and a commitment to
excellence, but also improved profitability. Operationally,
DIRECTV is not as efficient as it should be and our cost
structure is not on par with our key competitors. We
plan to change this through focusing on financial
discipline, eliminating bureaucracy, and implementing operational best practices. In
addition, News Corporation’s global scale will bring cost efficiencies to DIRECTV in areas
such as set-top boxes, technology and programming.
We plan to reinvent DIRECTV into an entrepreneurial, efficient and agile business. Our
management team will establish DIRECTV as the leader in exciting, rewarding and compelling
television and we are determined to grow our business while maximizing profitability.
In terms of the competitive environment, we believe that DIRECTV will continue to have
the best television service in the United States, and we are well-positioned to compete
with cable operators that are still burdened with a hybrid architecture that includes both
analog and digital programming. In addition, DIRECTV has inherent advantages over cable
such as a national footprint, greater flexibility and lower costs. We expect to take
advantage of these strengths while maximizing the potential of exciting new alliances—
such as those we’ve announced with Verizon and BellSouth—to continue creating
entertainment services that are more attractive than those offered by cable.
While DIRECTV in the United States is our core business, we also recognize there are
other important business units within The DIRECTV Group. DIRECTV Latin America has
We want DIRECTV
to be the best
television
experience in the
world and The
DIRECTV Group to
realize its value
potential for our
shareholders.
3