DirecTV Acquires Pegasus Satellite TV
The success of direct broadcast satellite (DBS) or satellite television providers in any region in the world is determined by the performance of its distribution channels. In the United States, two companies dominate the satellite television industry. DISH Network and DirecTV satellite television systems are available in all of the fifty states of the country. Because of retail centers and other distribution centers employed by these companies, people residing in remote or rural areas are able to enjoy the pleasure of satellite TV viewing. Pegasus Satellite TV (PST) is the most successful independent distributor of DirecTV satellite TV systems. Along with Voom, PST used to be one of the smaller rivals of DirecTV in the market. Pegasus Satellite TV, together with other distributors, helped cement the position of DirecTV satellite TV systems as the leading company in its industry. The DirecTV group is made up of four business units that generate direct and indirect satellite customers for the company. These are DirecTV U.S., DirecTV Latin America, PanAmSat and the Hughes Network Systems (HNS). Each of these units serves different markets and provides different products and services. DirecTV U.S. and DirecTV Latin America provides DirecTV satellite television systems to households in the United States and Latin America, respectively. PanAmSat provide satellite transmissions services to its clients by using the fleet of 25 satellites owned by the company. Finally, Hughes Network System operates DirecWay, a company that offers broadband Internet access to over 180,000 subscribers. Moreover, HSN also manufactures a large percentage of DirecTV set-top receivers. In addition, DirecTV has partnership agreements with leading companies in the Information Technology industry like AOL, Microsoft, and TiVo, further expanding their market base.
Pegasus Satellite TV exclusively distributes and sells DirecTV satellite TV systems to more than 7 million households in 42 US states. Its network of 3,500 retail centers distributes digital satellite services to many rural areas all over the country. Moreover, Pegasus Satellite TV provides customer care service to its clients through its customer care centers in the states of California, Kentucky, Missourri and Massachusetts. Pegasus Communications Corporation (PCC), a media and communications conglomerate previously owned and operated Pegasus Satellite TV. PCC was one of the key players in the satellite television and Direct Broadcast Television (DBT) industry. In 2004, DirecTV acquired the direct broadcast satellite assets of Pegasus Satellite TV to strengthen its position in the industry. Aside from Pegasus Satellite TV, PCC also owns and operates Pegasus Broadcast Television (PBT), which owns 9 television stations. These stations have affiliations with a number of television channels like UPN, CBS, FOX, and The WB. Broadcast stations of Pegasus are situated in Wilkes-Barre Scranton, Portland, Auburn, Chattanooga, Tallahassee, and Gainesville. The primary business strategies employed by Pegasus Broadcast Television (PBT) in its operations are the acquisition of existing television stations and the creation of new TV stations. PBT aims to increase its share of the market by improving their programming and technical facilities to obtain higher viewer ratings and at the same time, increase revenue by reducing operating costs. |