DirecTV will lay off about 10 percent of its management staff as the company contends with the growing shift of consumers away from paid linear TV.
The layoffs will impact several hundred employees working in management, as well as a few other staffers. Employees were informed of the decision late last week.
“The entire pay-TV industry is impacted by the secular decline and the increasing rates to secure and distribute programming. We’re adjusting our operations costs to align with these changes and will continue to invest in new entertainment products and service enhancements,” a spokesperson for DirecTV said.
Related Stories
The satellite TV business has been increasingly under pressure as more consumers opt to cut the cord in favor of streaming services. And DirecTV recently lost the rights to one of its biggest draws, NFL’s “Sunday Ticket,” after its contract ended with the 2022 season and YouTube acquired the rights to the out-of-market Sunday games starting with the 2023 season.
DirecTV became a stand-alone, private company in August 2021, after AT&T spun it off with the directive to focus on video. DirecTV has a streaming business, under the branding of DirecTV Stream, as well as its traditional satellite business.
The company has also been the subject of a possible merger with fellow satellite TV provider Dish Network. After calling the merger “inevitable” over the past several quarters, Dish Network chairman Charlie Ergen said in November that if it were to happen, he believes it would be in the “near term.” The two companies had previously tried to merge in 2002, but were blocked by federal regulators.
