Though founded in 1990, DIRECTV officially launched its satellite service on a regional basis in June 1994. In October of the same year, the company went national and, by the end of 1994, had 320,000 subscribers. In November 1995, the company celebrated its millionth customer. DIRECTV acquired U.S. Satellite Broadcasting and Primestar within months of each other during 1999, purchases that catapulted the company to its 10 millionth customer in 2001. In 2005, the company reached its 15 millionth subscriber and launched international service in Latin America in 2006, reaching the five million customer mark there in 2008.
As of the date of publication, DIRECTV does business in Latin America under its wholly-owned subsidiary, DIRECTV Latin America (DLA). DLA offers satellite service to a variety of countries in North, Central and South America, including Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela and Colombia. Subsidiaries of DLA include Sky Brazil, Sky Mexico and PanAmericana. DLA programming originates from a broadcast center in Long Beach, California.
DIRECTV offers an assortment of entertainment options on a wide range of networks, including ESPN, HBO, Showtime, The Food Network, TBS and MTV. As of the date of publication, the company offers four subscription packages in the U.S. that feature different amounts of channels. The CHOICE package is the least expensive and includes at least 150 channels, while the PREMIER package is the most expensive and includes more than 285 channels. While each package comes with commercial movie channels, such as FX, USA and TNT, only the PREMIER package comes with premium movie channels, including HBO, Showtime and Cinemax. Each subscription bundle gives you the option of a variety of add-ons, including a DVR, high-definition programming and on-demand movies.
Aside from its headquarters in southern California, DIRECTV also operates corporate offices in New York City and Denver, and broadcasting centers in Castle Rock, Colorado, and Marina Del Rey, California. The company's sales division is operated out of offices in Atlanta and Chicago, while its customer service centers are located throughout the country, including Boise, Idaho, Huntington, West Virginia and Huntsville, Alabama. DIRECTV stock is traded on the NASDAQ Exchange under the ticker DTV. The company's biggest competitors include DISH Network Corporation, Comcast Corporation and Time Warner Cable Inc.