DirecTV has hinted that it may seek to expand from a distributer to a content provider in 2010 through strategic acquisitions. Speaking at a Citigroup investor conference in San Francisco, the DTH provider’s chief financial officer Patrick Doyle pointed…
DirecTV has hinted that it may seek to expand from a distributer to a content provider in 2010 through strategic acquisitions. Speaking at a Citigroup investor conference in San Francisco, the DTH provider’s chief financial officer Patrick Doyle pointed to the value of vertical integration between distributors and content creators.
However, Doyle cautioned that sellers’ valuation expectations were still too high, restricting the number of potential purchases.
Following its merger into the newly formed Liberty Entertainment, DirecTV now owns three regional sports networks and a 65% stake in the Game Show Network.
That deal, which significantly simplified the satellite broadcaster’s ownership structure, has led to speculation that DirecTV may itself become a takeover target with the usual telco suspects, Verizon and AT&T, being mentioned.
Doyle also said at the conference that DirecTV had considered spinning out its fast-growing Latin American subsidiary and operate it as a tracking stock. However, he added that the company had decided it was more valuable remaining within the group.