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DIRECTV Announces Second Quarter 2011 Results

DIRECTV Revenues Grow 13% to $6.60 Billion

• Increase driven by DIRECTV Latin America's record subscriber growth and 13% higher Average Revenue per Subscriber, as well as 7% revenue growth at DIRECTV U.S.
• DIRECTV Latin America adds all-time high 823,000 gross and 472,000 net subscribers in the quarter

Operating Profit before Depreciation and Amortization Increases 13% to $1.85 Billion and Operating Profit Grows 22% to $1.23 Billion

• Growth fueled by DIRECTV Latin America's 60% increase in operating profit before depreciation and amortization to $423 million and 72% increase in operating profit to $241 million.

DIRECTV Adjusted Diluted Earnings per Share Up 52% to $0.91

• Results driven primarily by operating profit growth and share repurchases of $5.8 billion over the last twelve months, including $1.5 billion in the second quarter

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- DIRECTV (NASDAQ:DTV) today reported increases in second quarter 2011 revenues of 13% to $6.60 billion, operating profit before depreciation and amortization¹ (OPBDA) of 13% to $1.85 billion and operating profit of 22% to $1.23 billion compared to last year's second quarter. DIRECTV also reported that second quarter net income increased 29% to $701 million and diluted earnings per share grew 52% to $0.91 compared with the same period last year, excluding the $0.18 per Class A common share impact from the Malone transaction² in the second quarter of 2010.

"Consolidated revenue accelerated to 13% exceeding both last year and first quarter growth rates as DIRECTV Latin America's continued record subscriber additions coupled with strong ARPU growth propelled a 46% increase in DTVLA revenues while DIRECTV U.S. delivered another solid quarter of industry leading revenue growth of 7%," said Mike White, President and CEO of DIRECTV. "Importantly, the significant subscriber performance in Latin America did not come at the expense of profitability as DTVLA's OPBDA grew 60% fueling our consolidated OPBDA growth to 13%." White added, "While a challenging economic and competitive landscape continues to impact DIRECTV U.S., the substantial and growing contributions from DTVLA combined with our share repurchase program drove strong EPS growth of 52% in the quarter."

DIRECTV'S OPERATIONAL REVIEW

Second Quarter Review

DIRECTV's second quarter revenues of $6.60 billion increased 13% over the same period last year principally due to subscriber and average revenue per subscriber (ARPU) growth at DIRECTV Latin America (DTVLA) and DIRECTV U.S. Operating profit before depreciation and amortization increased 13% to $1.85 billion and operating profit grew 22% to $1.23 billion primarily due to the gross profit associated with higher revenues partially offset by higher subscriber acquisition and upgrade and retention costs at DIRECTV U.S. and DTVLA. Operating profit was also favorably impacted by lower depreciation and amortization expense at DIRECTV U.S.

Net income attributable to DIRECTV increased 29% to $701 million compared with the second quarter of last year primarily due to higher operating profit as well as a $57 million increase in other income, including a $37 million pre-tax gain resulting from the sale of an equity investment recorded in "Other, net" on the Consolidated Statements of Operations. These increases were partially offset by higher interest expense principally resulting from an increase in long-term debt as well as higher income tax expense resulting from the increase in pre-tax income. Diluted earnings per share improved 52% to $0.91 in the quarter, excluding the impact from the Malone transaction² in the second quarter of 2010. The increase was due to the higher net income as well as a lower average share count resulting from stock repurchases made over the last twelve months.

Cash flow before interest and taxes³ increased 10% to $998 million and free cash flow⁴ increased 3% to $395 million compared to the second quarter of 2010 due to the higher OPBDA and $32 million in dividends received, primarily from Game Show Network, partially offset by increased capital expenditures mostly driven by the higher gross additions and demand for advanced set-top boxes at both DTVLA and DIRECTV U.S. Free cash flow was also negatively impacted by greater cash tax payments primarily resulting from the higher pre-tax income and prior-year one-time tax deductions. Also during the quarter but not included in free cash flow, were cash paid for share repurchases of $1.51 billion and proceeds from the sale of an equity investment of $55 million. In addition, in June 2011 DIRECTV U.S. redeemed the remaining $659 million of its 6.375% Senior Notes due 2015.

Year-to-Date Review

DIRECTV's first half revenues of $12.92 billion increased 13% over the same period last year principally due to subscriber and ARPU growth at both DIRECTV Latin America and DIRECTV U.S. Operating profit before depreciation and amortization increased 13% to $3.61 billion and operating profit increased 21% to $2.39 billion primarily due to gross profit associated with higher revenues partially offset by increased subscriber acquisition costs associated with the higher gross additions at both DTVLA and DIRECTV U.S. Operating profit was also favorably impacted by lower depreciation and amortization expense at DIRECTV U.S.

In the first six months of 2011, net income attributable to DIRECTV increased 25% to $1.38 billion driven by the higher operating profit as well as a $93 million increase in other income, including a $60 million increase in pre-tax gains resulting from the sale of investments recorded in "Other, net" on the Consolidated Statements of Operations. These increases were partially offset by higher interest expense principally resulting from an increase in long-term debt as well as greater income tax expense resulting from the higher pre-tax income. Also impacting the comparison was a $67 million gain from the final settlement of the equity collars assumed in the Liberty transaction in the first quarter of 2010. Diluted earnings per share improved to $1.76, a 48% increase excluding the impact of the Malone transaction² from the first half results of 2010. The increase was due to the higher net income as well as a lower average share count resulting from stock repurchases made over the last twelve months.

Cash flow before interest and taxes and free cash flow declined 4% to $1.90 billion and 25% to $1.06 billion, respectively, compared to the first six months of 2010 as the higher OPBDA and $77 million in dividends received, primarily from Sky Mexico and Game Show Network, were more than offset by higher capital expenditures primarily associated with increased gross additions and demand for advanced set-top boxes at both DIRECTV U.S. and DTVLA. In addition, free cash flow was negatively impacted by higher cash interest payments related to an increase in long-term debt, as well as higher cash tax payments primarily resulting from the increase in pre-tax income and prior-year one-time tax deductions.

During the first six months of 2011 but not included in free cash flow, were cash paid for share repurchases of $2.91 billion and proceeds from the sale of investments of $116 million. In addition, in March 2011 DIRECTV U.S. completed a $4.0 billion debt financing and DIRECTV redeemed $1.0 billion of 6.375% Senior Notes due 2015 during the first half of 2011.

SEGMENT FINANCIAL REVIEW

DIRECTV U.S. Segment

Second Quarter Review

In the quarter, DIRECTV U.S. revenues increased 7% to $5.28 billion primarily due to the larger subscriber base and ARPU growth of 3.0%. The ARPU increase to $90.58 was driven by price increases on programming packages and leased set-top boxes, as well as higher advanced service fees partially offset by more promotional offers to new and existing customers. Net additions declined to 26,000 as the increase in gross additions was more than offset by a higher average monthly churn rate of 1.59% principally resulting from a more competitive environment coupled with ongoing economic weakness. DIRECTV U.S. ended the quarter with 19.43 million subscribers, an increase of 4% over the 18.76 million subscribers reported for the quarter ended June 30, 2010.

Second quarter OPBDA increased 4% to $1.45 billion and operating profit increased 13% to $1.02 billion primarily due to gross profit associated with higher revenue partially offset by an increase in upgrade and retention costs and higher demand for advanced service equipment. Operating profit was also favorably impacted by the completion of amortization for a subscriber-related intangible asset as well as lower depreciation expense associated with a reduction in set-top box capital expenditures over the last several years.

DIRECTV Latin America Segment

DIRECTV Latin America owns approximately 93% of Sky Brazil, 41% of Sky Mexico and 100% of PanAmericana, which covers most of the remaining countries in the region. Sky Mexico, whose results are accounted for as an equity method investment and therefore are not consolidated by DTVLA, had approximately 3.59 million subscribers as of June 30, 2011 bringing the total subscribers in the region to 10.29 million at the end of the second quarter of 2011.

Second Quarter Review

DIRECTV Latin America gross additions increased 25% to an all-time record of 823,000 in the quarter largely due to increased demand from the middle market segment in Brazil. The increase in gross additions and a slight decline in post-paid churn to 1.44% driven by lower churn in Brazil and Venezuela, resulted in record net additions of 472,000, representing a 14% increase over last year's second quarter results which benefited from the 2010 World Cup soccer tournament. Revenues for DTVLA increased 46% to $1.25 billion in the quarter principally due to the strong subscriber growth and a 13.3% increase in ARPU. The increase in ARPU to $64.56 was mostly due to price increases, higher sales of HD and DVR services as well as favorable exchange rates, primarily in Brazil. Excluding the impact of exchange rates, DTVLA ARPU increased 7.9%.

DIRECTV Latin America's second quarter 2011 OPBDA increased 60% to $423 million and operating profit increased 72% to $241 million primarily due to the gross profit associated with higher revenue. These increases were partially offset by higher subscriber acquisition costs associated with the record gross additions as well as increased upgrade and retention spending driven by demand for advanced equipment. Also impacting operating profit were higher depreciation expenses mostly due to the increase in set-top boxes deployed related to the higher gross subscriber additions attained over the last year.

CONFERENCE CALL INFORMATION

A live webcast of DIRECTV's second quarter 2011 earnings call will be available on the company's website at www.directv.com/investor. The webcast will begin at 2:00 p.m. ET, today August 4, 2011. Access to the earnings call is also available in the United States by dialing (800) 946-0708 and internationally by dialing (719) 457-2573. The conference ID number is 2814438. A replay of the call can be accessed by dialing 888-203-1112 in the U.S. and 719-457-0820 internationally. The replay pass code is 2814438. The replay will be available from 5:30 p.m. ET Thursday, August 4 through 12:59 a.m. ET Friday, August 12 and will also be archived on our website at www.directv.com/investor.

FOOTNOTES

(1) Operating profit before depreciation and amortization, which is a financial measure that is not determined in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, or GAAP, should be used in conjunction with other GAAP financial measures and is not presented as an alternative measure of operating results, as determined in accordance with GAAP. Please see each of DIRECTV and DIRECTV Holdings LLC's Annual Reports on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010 for further discussion of operating profit before depreciation and amortization. Operating profit before depreciation and amortization margin is calculated by dividing operating profit before depreciation and amortization by total revenues.

(2) In the second quarter of 2010, DIRECTV resolved an FCC issue regarding our Puerto Rico operations by consummating a transaction with Dr. John C. Malone and members of his family. Under the terms of the agreement, the Malones exchanged 21.8 million shares of DIRECTV Class B common stock, which was all of the outstanding Class B shares, for 26.5 million shares of DIRECTV Class A common stock. The additional 4.7 million shares, valued at approximately $160 million reduced the diluted earnings per share attributable to Class A shareholders to $0.42 in the second quarter of 2010. See reconciliation of adjusted diluted earnings per share to diluted earnings per share at the end of this release.

(3) Cash flow before interest and taxes, which is a financial measure that is not determined in accordance with GAAP, is calculated by deducting amounts under the captions "Cash paid for property and equipment," "Cash paid for satellites," "Cash paid for subscriber leased equipment — subscriber acquisitions," and "Cash paid for subscriber leased equipment — upgrade and retention" from "Net cash provided by operating activities" from the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows and adding back net interest paid and "Cash paid for income taxes." This financial measure should be used in conjunction with other GAAP financial measures and is not presented as an alternative measure of cash flows from operating activities, as determined in accordance with GAAP. DIRECTV and DIRECTV U.S. management use cash flow before interest and taxes to evaluate the cash generated by our current subscriber base, net of capital expenditures, and excluding the impact of interest and taxes, for the purpose of allocating resources to activities such as adding new subscribers, retaining and upgrading existing subscribers, for additional capital expenditures and as a measure of performance for incentive compensation purposes. DIRECTV and DIRECTV U.S. believe this measure is useful to investors, along with other GAAP measures (such as cash flows from operating and investing activities), to compare our operating performance to other communications, entertainment and media companies. We believe that investors also use current and projected cash flow before interest and taxes to determine the ability of our current and projected subscriber base to fund required and discretionary spending and to help determine the financial value of the company.

(4) Free cash flow, which is a financial measure that is not determined in accordance with GAAP, is calculated by deducting amounts under the captions "Cash paid for property and equipment," "Cash paid for satellites," "Cash paid for subscriber leased equipment — subscriber acquisitions," and "Cash paid for subscriber leased equipment — upgrade and retention" from "Net cash provided by operating activities" from the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows. This financial measure should be used in conjunction with other GAAP financial measures and is not presented as an alternative measure of cash flows from operating activities, as determined in accordance with GAAP. DIRECTV and DIRECTV U.S. management use free cash flow to evaluate the cash generated by our current subscriber base, net of capital expenditures, for the purpose of allocating resources to activities such as adding new subscribers, retaining and upgrading existing subscribers, for additional capital expenditures and as a measure of performance for incentive compensation purposes. DIRECTV and DIRECTV U.S. believe this measure is useful to investors, along with other GAAP measures (such as cash flows from operating and investing activities), to compare our operating performance to other communications, entertainment and media companies. We believe that investors also use current and projected free cash flow to determine the ability of our current and projected subscriber base to fund required and discretionary spending and to help determine the financial value of the company.

(5) DIRECTV Latin America subscriber data exclude subscribers of the Sky Mexico service.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT CONCERNING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

NOTE: This release may include or incorporate by reference certain statements that we believe are, or may be considered to be, "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of various provisions of the Securities Act of 1933 and of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These forward-looking statements generally can be identified by use of statements that include phrases such as "believe," "expect," "estimate," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "project" or other similar words or phrases. Similarly, statements that describe our objectives, plans or goals also are forward-looking statements. All of these forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from historical results or from those expressed or implied by the relevant forward-looking statement. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: economic conditions; product demand and market acceptance; ability to simplify aspects of our business model, improve customer service, create new and desirable programming content and interactive features, and achieve anticipated economies of scale; government and regulatory action; local political or economic developments in or affecting countries where we have operations, including political, economic and social uncertainties in many Latin American countries in which DTVLA operates; foreign currency exchange rates; currency exchange controls; ability to obtain export licenses; competition; the outcome of legal proceedings; reliance on key executives and the loss thereof; indemnification obligations; ability to achieve cost reductions; increasing subscriber acquisition costs and subscriber churn; ability of third parties to timely perform material contracts; ability to renew programming contracts under favorable terms; technological risk; potential intellectual property infringement; limitations on access to distribution channels; natural disasters; the success and timeliness of satellite launches; in-orbit performance of satellites, including technical anomalies; loss of uninsured satellites; theft of satellite programming signals; significant debt; and our ability to access capital to maintain our financial flexibility. These factors are also described in Item 1A of DIRECTV's Form 10-K, quarterly reports filed on Form 10-Q and other SEC filings. We urge you to consider these factors carefully in evaluating the forward-looking statements.

DIRECTV (NASDAQ:DTV) is one of the world's leading providers of digital television entertainment services. Through its subsidiaries and affiliated companies in the United States, Brazil, Mexico and other countries in Latin America, DIRECTV provides digital television service to more than 19.4 million customers in the United States and over 10 million customers in Latin America. DIRECTV sports and entertainment properties include three regional sports networks (Northwest, Rocky Mountain and Pittsburgh) as well as a 60 percent ownership interest in Game Show Network. For more information on DIRECTV, visit directv.com.

DIRECTV
Media Contact: Darris Gringeri, 212-205-0882
Investor Relations: 310-964-0808

Source: DIRECTV

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