DIRECTV

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Learn more about corporations VOTING to rewrite our laws.

Campaign to Fix the Debt
Company Profile
Company Name DIRECTV
CEO Name Michael White
CEO Compensation $5,937,078
CEO Retirement Assets $806,361
Underfunded Company Pension -$135,000,000
Annual Company Revenue $27,226,000,000
Tax Dodger ('08-'10) 20.1%
Territorial Tax Break $104,300,000
Click here for sources.
2011 data unless otherwise noted.
©2013 Center for Media and Democracy

The DIRECTV Group, Inc. (also DirecTV) is the largest direct broadcast satellite (DBS) TV provider in the U.S. (ahead of EchoStar's DISH Network). It has over 15 million customers in the U.S. and 4.1 million in Latin America. DirecTV is 38% owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation (by way of the Fox Entertainment Group).

[1] [2]

DirecTV is based in El Segundo, California and was formerly known as Hughes Electronics Corporation. [3]

In 2011, the company reported $27,226,000,000 in revenues.[4]

Ties to Pete Peterson's "Fix the Debt"

The Campaign to Fix the Debt is the latest incarnation of a decades-long effort by former Nixon man turned Wall Street billionaire Pete Peterson to slash earned benefit programs such as Social Security and Medicare under the guise of fixing the nation's "debt problem."

This article is part of the Center for Media and Democracy's investigation of Pete Peterson's Campaign to "Fix the Debt." Please visit our main SourceWatch page on Fix the Debt.

About Fix the Debt
The Campaign to Fix the Debt is the latest incarnation of a decades-long effort by former Nixon man turned Wall Street billionaire Pete Peterson to slash earned benefit programs such as Social Security and Medicare under the guise of fixing the nation's "debt problem." Through a special report and new interactive wiki resource, the Center for Media and Democracy -- in partnership with the Nation magazine -- exposes the funding, the leaders, the partner groups, and the phony state "chapters" of this astroturf supergroup. Learn more at PetersonPyramid.org and in the Nation magazine.


Ties to the American Legislative Exchange Council

DirecTV has been a corporate funder of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a corporate member of ALEC's Communications and Technology Task Force[5] and ALEC's Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force[6]. See ALEC Corporations for more.

About ALEC
ALEC is a corporate bill mill. It is not just a lobby or a front group; it is much more powerful than that. Through ALEC, corporations hand state legislators their wishlists to benefit their bottom line. Corporations fund almost all of ALEC's operations. They pay for a seat on ALEC task forces where corporate lobbyists and special interest reps vote with elected officials to approve “model” bills. Learn more at the Center for Media and Democracy's ALECexposed.org, and check out breaking news on our ExposedbyCMD.org site.

Personnel

Executives

As of January 2013[7]

  • Michael White - Chairman, President & CEO
  • Joseph A Bosch - Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer
  • Bruce B. Churchill - Executive Vice President & President, DIRECTV Latin America
  • Patrick T. Doyle - Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
  • Larry D. Hunter - Executive Vice President and General Counsel
  • Romulo C. Pontual - Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer
  • Fazal Merchant - Senior Vice President and Treasurer
  • John F. Murphy - Senior Vice President, Controller and Chief Accounting Officer

Former executives include (with 2006 pay):[8]

Board of Directors

As of January 2013[10]

  • Neil R. Austrian - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Office Depot, Inc
  • Ralph F. Boyd, Jr. - Strategic Consultant
  • David B. Dillon - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, The Kroger Co.
  • Samuel A. DiPiazza Jr. - Vice Chairman, Institutional Clients Group, Citigroup Inc.
  • Dixon R. Doll - Co-Founder and Managing General Partner, DCM
  • Charles R. Lee - Retired Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer, Verizon Communications, Incl
  • Peter A. Lund - Private Investor and Former President and Chief Executive Officer, CBS, Inc.
  • Nancy S. Newcomb - Retired Senior Corporate Officer, Citigroup Inc.
  • Lorrie Norrington - Former President, eBay Marketplaces, eBay, Inc.
  • Michael White - Chairman, President & CEO, DIRECTV

Former board members include:[11]

Political contributions

DirecTV gave $146,500 to federal candidates in the 2006 election through its political action committee - 45% to Democrats and 55% to Republicans. [12]

Lobbying

The company spent $1,180,000 for lobbying in 2006. $580,000 went to five lobbying firms with the remainder being spent using in-house lobbyists. Two of the lobbying firms were Greenberg Traurig and Lundquist, Nethercutt & Griles LLC. [13]

Contact details

2230 East Imperial Highway
El Segundo, CA 90245
USA
Phone: (310) 964-5000
Fax: (310) 535-5225
Web: http://www.directv.com

Articles and Resources

Featured SourceWatch Articles on Fix the Debt

References

  1. DirecTV Profile, Hoovers, accessed November 2007.
  2. "Earnings Preview: DirecTV Group Inc.", CNN Money, November 05, 2007.
  3. DirecTV Profile, Yahoo Finance, accessed November 2007.
  4. DIRECTV, "2011 Annual Report", organizational document, Item 6, page 30.
  5. American Legislative Exchange Council, American Legislative Exchange Council Telecommunications & Information Technology as of July 18th, 2011, organizational task force membership director, July 18, 2011, p. 22, obtained and released by Common Cause April 2012
  6. American Legislative Exchange Council, Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force States and Nation Policy Summit December 2, 2010 Task Force Members in Attendance, organizational document, March 31, 2011, p. 28, obtained and released by Common Cause April 2012
  7. DIRECTV, Elected Officers, organizational website, accessed January 2013
  8. DirecTV Key Executives, Yahoo Finance, accessed November 2007.
  9. K Rupert Murdoch, Forbes, accessed November 2007.
  10. DIRECTV, Board of Directors, organizational website, accessed January 2013
  11. Board of Directors, DirecTV, accessed November 2007.
  12. 2006 PAC Summary Data, Open Secrets, accessed November 2007.
  13. DirecTV lobbying expenses, Open Secrets, accessed November 2007.