DIRECTV 2009 Annual Report Download - page 20

DIRECTV
in a home. We also intend to make DIRECTV programming more ubiquitous by offering it
on portable and mobile devices, including cell phones. For example, in 2009, subscribers to
our NFL SUNDAY TICKET↩ SuperFan↧ package were able to stream live NFL games to
their mobile phones. In addition, we believe that our ongoing marketing relationships with
the major wireless telephony providers such as AT&T and Verizon provide us a unique
opportunity to develop compelling applications for our customers.
•Enhance/Improve User Interface/Guide. We are constantly striving to improve our guide and
user interface because it is important that our subscribers are able to access the many
offerings we provide in as easy and intuitive a manner as possible. For example, in January
2010 we introduced Smart Search which helps customers find what they are looking for on
TV faster and easier as well as providing significantly more information about the television
programs and actors they are interested in watching.
DIRECTV has led the industry in the application of remote DVR scheduling technology as
over 2 million of our customers have scheduled over 12 million recordings remotely to
DIRECTV DVRs through 2009. We also introduced ScoreGuideTM in 2009 which, at the
press of a button, enables customers to easily track scores and start times of major sporting
events, see a list of channels carrying each event and tune directly to those channels. In
2010, we expect to further expand ScoreGuide, to include Olympic and soccer coverage.
Another example of our improved user interface is GameSearchTM which automatically
recognizes when a customer has tuned to a channel with a blacked-out sports game and
immediately looks to see if the game is on another channel. It then provides the customer a
message telling them where to find the game or if it is unavailable.
•Enhance Sales and Marketing; Focus on High Quality Subscribers; Improve Customer Service,
Distribution and Installation. We expect to continue to grow our subscriber base and maintain
relatively low churn levels by focusing on acquiring higher quality subscribers, as well as
improving our customer service, distribution and installation.
•Enhance Sales and Marketing. We expect to continue growing our subscriber base through
marketing programs that capitalize on the strength of our brand and extensive
programming. In addition, we expect that our expanded national and local HD
programming, as well as many of our new services including multi-room viewing, DIRECTV
Cinema and the home media center will increase sales from customers purchasing these
services. We also intend to continue focusing on local advertising and marketing to ensure
that our competitive strengths are effectively targeted based on competitive factors,
demographics and geography.
•Maintain Low Levels of Churn by Attracting High Quality Subscribers. We believe that in
order to maintain churn at relatively low levels, we must continue to improve the overall
quality of our subscriber base by regularly refining our credit and identification policies to
properly reflect the changing competitive and economic landscape. However, we believe it is
also important to balance churn levels by adjusting our upgrade and retention policies and
costs to help assure appropriate financial returns.
•Improve Customer Service, Distribution and Installation. We strive to attain the gold standard
in customer service throughout a customer’s lifecycle. We expect to improve customer
service, distribution and installation services while also improving operational efficiencies.
For example, in 2008 and 2009 we entered into several transactions which resulted in a
substantial portion of our previously outsourced service and installation network technicians
becoming DIRECTV U.S. employees. By having these technicians as employees of
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