NEW YORK -- Satellite TV giant DirecTV Group said Thursday that it swung to a third-quarter profit as it managed most costs well, and revenue rose 13% year-over-year amid slower subscriber growth.

The El Segundo, Calif.-based company, controlled by News Corp., posted a profit of $94.6 million compared with a loss of $1.01 billion in the year-ago period. The latest quarterly figure, which slightly exceeded analyst expectations, included a $30 million gain on an asset sale, while the year-ago result was dragged down by a $903 million write-down.

DirecTV's third-quarter revenue reached $3.23 billion, slightly below Wall Street projections. The company added 263,000 net subscribers in the period, falling short of many analysts' targets as well as the 456,000 user additions recorded in the year-ago period.

DirecTV said Thursday that its launch this year of stricter credit policies has affected subscriber adds and increased churn, with third-quarter, high-risk customer gains reduced by 50% compared with last year.

Industry observers have said that increased competition from cable operators could keep a lid on satellite TV's user gains over the near term.

Still, the user additions meant that as of Sept. 30, DirecTV exceeded 14.9 million subscribers, and it said it broke through the 15 million mark in October.

Average monthly subscriber churn rose from 1.82% last year to 1.89%, which DirecTV president and CEO Chase Carey called "unacceptably high," and average subscriber-acquisition cost rose from $617 to $626.

Average monthly revenue per user rose from $66.46 in third-quarter 2004 to $68.65 in the latest period, but programming costs also increased.

"Third-quarter results were mixed ... with greater programming expense and subscriber service cost offsetting the benefit of lower SAC and retention and marketing expenses," Credit Suisse First Boston analyst Carrie Hart said in a research note.

In a statement, Carey on Thursday predicted that DirecTV will "drive churn lower beginning in the fourth quarter and into 2006."

Asked in a conference call about Wednesday's news of a joint venture between Sprint Nextel and four large cable operators to offer TV services via cell phones, DirecTV brass said that they plan to unveil various partners to bring DirecTV's service to new devices.

The company will have "a fair amount of devices of our own," Carey said, adding that some of them likely will be unveiled in January at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

DirecTV shares Thursday closed down 2% at $14.27. Over the past 52 weeks, the stock has traded between $13.81-$17.01.