DIRECTV 2008 Annual Report Download - page 19

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THE DIRECTV GROUP, INC.
•Offer Differentiated and Exclusive Content. To fulfill our goal, we believe we must have the most
extensive collection of valuable programming services available. We plan to further enhance our
programming service by continuing to expand our HD programming, creating compelling new
programming, launching new interactive services and video-on-demand, or VOD, and expanding
international programming.
•Expand High-Definition Programming. We believe that having the most comprehensive
offering of HD channels provides us with a significant competitive advantage in a market
segment that is expected to experience continued growth. We believe we currently have the
most extensive national HD channel offering in our industry and with the anticipated launch
of our DIRECTV 12 satellite in 2009, we expect to extend that advantage. As a result, we
expect to offer local channels in HD to over 90% of television households in 2009 and have
the capacity to broadcast approximately 200 national HD channels to nearly all U.S.
television households. Subscribers receiving local HD channels will generally only receive
the channels broadcast in their home market.
•Offer Exclusive Content and Create Compelling New Programming. We offer content which is
not offered by other MVPD providers such as NFL SUNDAY TICKET where subscribers
can watch up to 14 games each week, most of which are offered in HD. We have also
signed agreements to be the exclusive MVPD provider of NCAA MEGA MARCH
MADNESS↧. We expect to continue to launch new programming that will differentiate us
from the competition. As an example, we offer our customers The 101, a free premium
channel dedicated to the broadcast of unique and exclusive content including series such as
Friday Night Lights and Wonderland, as well as concert performances by top-rated artists.
In 2008, we also launched new shows on The 101 such as Rock & A Hard Place and
Supreme Court of Comedy.
•Launch Enhanced and Interactive Services. We believe that enhanced and interactive services
play an important role in the subscriber experience. For example, NFL SUNDAY TICKET
subscribers can view a mix-channel with up to 8 games on one screen while the NFL
Supercast service lets viewers access games and interactive statistics online through a PC or
laptop. In 2008, we launched an interactive service on The Weather Channel allowing users
to get their latest local weather forecast as well as features such as ‘‘locals on the 8s’’ at the
touch of a button. We also provide interactive services and mix-channels for most of the
major professional golf and tennis tournaments, including the Masters, United States Open,
PGA Championship, Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon.
•Enhance Video-on-Demand (VOD) Services. In 2008, we launched DIRECTV-on-Demand, a
VOD service for subscribers that have the new DIRECTV Plus↧ DVR or DIRECTV Plus↧
HD-DVR. As of year end 2008, DIRECTV on Demand offered about 4,500 titles providing
thousands of hours of top programming from the major broadcast and cable networks, as
well as popular movies. Most of the titles are offered free of charge and are downloaded
from the Internet through a broadband connection for those subscribers with a DIRECTV
Plus↧ HD-DVR. In addition, we download top movies via our satellites to a customer’s
DVR hard drive. In the future, we intend to improve DIRECTV on Demand by adding new
programming choices, including more popular titles while improving the User Interface and
accessibility.
•Expand International Programming. We continue to expand and improve our international
programming offerings because we believe there is an underserved market for these services
in the United States. As of December 31, 2008, we offered 55 Spanish channels in our M´
as
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