If you look back over the last 50 or so years, you will notice how much television viewing has changed. What began as a handful of broadcast channels played on small black and white televisions has grown into hundreds of channels available through pay subscriptions that can be watched on color television screens as large as an entire wall. However, there are many other changes that have taken place over the years. Fortunately, the way you watch television is still changing and DirecTV has a lot to do with it.
Choosing Your Networks
According to Mike Palkovic, executive vice president of DirecTV, the major television networks currently play a major role in the increased costs DirecTV experiences, often passing those costs on to their customers. Because the main broadcast networks now own more than 104 subscription channels. This makes up a large portion of the DirecTV lineup. Due to the old laws that govern subscription television, the needs of the broadcast companies far outweigh the needs of the consumers.
Palkovic spoke to Congress about changing those laws to provide viewers with the options to choose the broadcast networks to which they subscribe. This would allow the consumer to choose which of the networks they would like to receive in their homes and which ones they don’t want to pay for. Because consumers would have more control over their viewing, networks would have to be more competitive in the rates they charge, helping consumers save money. This process would also eliminate blackouts when contracts stall and aren’t renewed immediately.
DirecTV Buying Hulu?
Another way DirecTV is trying to change the way you view television is through their bid on the popular television viewing site, Hulu. Through Hulu, viewers can watch certain television shows at any time for free. Those viewers who are interested in watching a larger variety of current and past television shows can choose to pay a subscription rate. It appears that DirecTV has won the bidding war against other big names, like Yahoo and Time Warner.
With the prospective addition of Hulu to their services, DirecTV will be able to use the appeal of Hulu as an online method of watching television shows and some movies to attract new subscribers who would be interested in these services. Likewise, Hulu will be able to grow its subscriber numbers through the help of DirecTV’s strong subscriber numbers, which are currently around 20 million.
DirecTV has been providing innovative ways for people to watch television for years now. However, they haven’t stopped creating new methods to change the way people are viewing television today and into the future. Check out www.SaveOnTVDirect.com to find deals on select channel packages and signing up for new services. Recently, they have addressed Congress with the possibility of changing the laws so they can offer their subscription services to viewers in entirely new ways. This can cut the costs for viewers and potentially reduce the chances of blackouts when networks refuse to make deals with DirecTV. In addition, the prospective deal to purchase Hulu could be introduced as early as the end of June 2013, bringing even more possibilities to their subscriber base. With all these changes, people can find new ways to watch TV, no matter where they are.