Key Execs Exit DirecTV

[Steve Mehs]

DirecTV told its employees Tuesday of big organizational changes for the satellite TV service, an effort that included the exit of several senior executives.

Key executive departures include Susan Collins and Larry Driscoll, both senior vice presidents who were members of the original DirecTV launch team. Collins oversaw marketing and advertising initiatives at DirecTV. Driscoll was known for his work on the company's customer service efforts, including telemarketing and customer activation.

Other executive departures include Rick McManus, Larry Lemoine, Michael Meltzer and Colin Schiller, according to an e-mail sent to DirecTV employees Tuesday obtained by SkyREPORT.

Larry Chapman, executive vice president of marketing/advertising and product development, will go to DirecTV parent Hughes Electronics in a new role supporting Eddy Hartenstein, chairman and CEO of DirecTV as well as corporate senior executive vice president of Hughes. Chapman will focus on activities at DirecTV Latin America and DirecTV Broadband, according to a separate statement released by DirecTV later in the day.

Due to the Chapman departure, and based on a review of operations, DirecTV also realigned its marketing, customer satisfaction and sales units. The changes, effective immediately, include the redeployment of units formerly in the marketing department into sales. DirecTV said it wants to tailor and align its marketing resources around two critical areas: customer acquisition and customer retention.

The employee e-mail said customer acquisition activities will be grouped under the sales, distribution and customer acquisition department, formerly sales and distribution, and will be led by Executive Vice President Steve Cox. All customer support, retention and upgrade activities will be housed within the customer satisfaction department, which will be led by Executive Vice President Bob Meyers.

The employee e-mail came from DirecTV President and COO Roxanne Austin and Hartenstein.

From SkyReport (http://www.skyreport.com/skyreport/dec2002/120402.shtm#one) (Used with Permission)

[t2]

Let's hope this is the beginning of a long overdue complete top to bottom overhaul of dtv. Until now, the "suits" of dtv have done their best to run a great service into the ground. Here are some other steps dtv should take to rebuild themselves:

1. Accelerate and improve customer service. It takes too long to get through to customer service and once through the csr's don't seem to be passionate about promoting the service or addressing customer concerns and ideas. DTV needs to do what it takes to bring in and retain customers. DTV should be upset to lose ANY customers to another service.

2. As part of axing the merger w/ E, DTV should demand that all dtv customers receive access to all channels E carries that dtv does not transmit. In addition, dtv needs to add international, local, national and virtual channels as part of a recommitment to giving customers more programming options.

Coincidingly, customers shouldn't have to sacrifice choice for picture quality. BOTH can be acheived without sacrificing one for the other.

3. Unify all receivers into a dtv "superbox" type dvr. It is wasteful to have seperate satellite receivers and seperate dvr's combos because of the cost of having to sell and service different types of receivers. Why not unify the current boxes into and all in one dvr starting with a 35 hr. pvr just like the dtv dvr, but with web tv and dtv interactive already added. As the hours increase, so do the new features such as gaming online, dtv dsl and others. The flagship should have a gargantuan hard drive with hd recording capacity and every feature imaginable.

[Karl Foster]

I agree with everything except item #3. One of Directv's strengths is the cometition between vendors. Having Hughes, Sony, RCA, and Samsung competing for business keeps new things coming. An example is that the Samsung boxes have component video now. Had there been only one vendor, this may have never happened. The competition has only one manufacturer of hardware, and while work better now than they used to, the innovation for the regular user (not the techie who wants a 921 or 522) is almost nil. They currently offer four different models and that is it. There is nothing to spur them on to improve their boxes. Competition breed innovation.

They also need to improve their marketing. On the radio every day, I hear Dish Network commercials all the time, and never anything from Directv. They need to be much more aggressive, at least here. They also need an introductory package similar to AT50 from Dish Network. Getting free equipment and a cheap intorductory package may hurt the bottom line at the front end of a contract, in the long run, many of these customers will upgrade their programming packages and buy new and improved equipment.

That is just my $.02 worth. That's about all it is worth.

[Richard King]

Coincidingly, customers shouldn't have to sacrifice choice for picture quality. BOTH can be acheived without sacrificing one for the other.Ah, how?

[Jacob S]

Maybe this is what is right and wrong with Dish Network. They have a cheap package to start from but they do not have other manufacturers making the equipment. This is good and bad in that there are not others competing to add features and to lower the price, but with one company handeling all of the warranties and a more common platform to work with, it can be cheaper and simpler, with only one number to call for hardware and programming.

[David W]

Originally posted by karl_f
I agree with everything except item #3. One of Directv's strengths is the cometition between vendors. Having Hughes, Sony, RCA, and Samsung competing for business keeps new things coming. An example is that the Samsung boxes have component video now. Had there been only one vendor, this may have never happened.

Just an FYI, but some RCA models have had component video for about a year now.

[t2]

In my 12-4 suggestion to dtv, i wasn't exactly clear as to what I meant by the idea of "superbox" pvr. My idea was based on each dtv manufacturer make their own version of the dtv dvr with the same standards as found w/ the dtv dvr, but w/ their own individualized features and nuances (net command from mitsubishi, I link from sony, component video standard by samsung and so on). With the ability to add new and exciting features and promote their own version of the dtv dvr, each manufacturer can try to out do each other as to what they can put into their individual pvr's. As karl f said so well: competition breeds innovation and I say that this idea is step in this direction. Give your thoughts and ideas on this.

[Atomic Buffalo]

I wonder if these folks were hanging on for big golden parachutes post-merger, and now that the plane isn't leaving the gate they're looking to rent an Audi from Avis to find their own yellow brick road.

Anyway, to the three points:

1. Better customer service costs more. Passionate people who answer on the first ring cost more. Will consumers pay $10 more than Dish or digital cable to get better customer service? No.

2. More channels costs more money. Yeah, I wish I got HBO Comedy, but between that and Trio I think I got the better deal.

3. The market won't support such a superbox as a baseline. No way you can deliver such a box with great software (TiVo) and competitively-priced content and maintain the $99 entry point the market demands. We'll see an all-in-one superbox just as soon as there's sufficient demand for it at a profitable price.

:: Atomic Buffalo
My brain has been replaced by a Cultural Juiceman Jr.

[JAMHRR]

Do you think part of the "shake up" is because DTV just landed the NFL Sunday Ticket and exec's were told by the NFL that if you don't increase your subscriber base by 2006 the "Sunday Ticket" will also be available on CABLE?

I seems ironic that this came just after the NFL agreement was signed and goes until the end of the 2006 season.