[15] HHMI created DirecTV as a separate division and secured an agreement with USSB to build and launch the first high-power direct-broadcast satellite system.

DirecTV selected C-SPAN, EWTN and the Trinity Broadcasting Network from its current channel lineup plus request additional proposals from other programmers.

[19] On November 11, 1997, DirecTV signed a two-year deal with Action Adventure Network to offer original series and telefilms for pay-per-view viewing, for $2.99 with the intent to expand.

[24] The FCC voted 3–2 along party lines on December 19, 2003, to approve the deal subject to conditions, forcing News Corp. to agree to arbitration for all disputes with carriers of its media broadcasters, and to provide content through DirecTV neutrally rather than favoring its own networks.

[25] On January 31, 2005, Hughes announced its intent to focus solely on its satellite television operations and divest its other interests, renaming itself The DirecTV Group, Inc. on March 16, 2005, and changing its ticker symbol from "HS" to "DTV".

[38] In September 2008, consumers filed a class action lawsuit with the Los Angeles Superior Court to stop DirecTV's practice of charging early cancellation penalties to subscribers.

[39] In 2009, the Washington Attorney General's office filed a civil complaint against DirecTV, finding that the company allegedly engaged in numerous repeated violations of the state's Consumer Protection Act.

The merger was approved by federal regulators, bringing DirecTV under the same umbrella as HBO, Cinemax, Turner Broadcasting System, Warner Bros., and Telepictures.

[79] Soon after, DirecTV's “Get Your TV Together” ad campaign launched, which featured Serena Williams and cast members of The Real Housewives alongside NFL players.

[80][81] In January 2022, the Los Angeles Sports & Entertainment Commission announced that DirecTV would serve as Presenting Sponsor of The Chairman's Party, a Super Bowl after-party inside SoFi Stadium.

It was announced a few days after the discontinuation of Venu Sports, a proposed streaming service which was to operated as a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company, Hearst Communications, Fox Corporation, and Warner Bros.

[93][94] In August 2022, DIRECTV and Amazon Prime announced a multi-year agreement for airing NFL Thursday Night Football games in over 300,000 venues.

[95] DirecTV is also the national provider of MLS Season Pass, a new subscription service from Apple and Major League Soccer, to commercial establishments such as bars, lounges and restaurants.

[97] In June 2023, Southwest Airlines and DirecTV partnered together to support RMHC by providing meals for families staying at the Ronald McDonald House in Dallas, Texas.

[102] As of February 2020[update], DirecTV manages a fleet of 12 satellites in geostationary orbit at positions ranging from 95°W to 119°W, ensuring strong coverage of the North American continent.

DirecTV's initial service offering was characterized by the delivery of all-digital standard definition national channels to locations in the lower 48 states.

The initial generation of antennas was 18-inch diameter (46 cm) with a single feed (consisting of a feedhorn and LNB electronics) that could downlink digital television signals from DirecTV's satellites at the 101 degrees West geostationary orbital position.

[104] DirecTV receiver modifications accommodated local channels, including multi-orbital slot reception and an improved electronic program guide featuring TV listings up to two weeks.

With the launch of new satellites utilizing Ku band frequencies, DirecTV increased its available signal bandwidth more than six-fold to meet the requirements of the higher resolution HD television pictures.

A new “Slimline” outdoor antenna design was introduced, capable of receiving both the Ka Band satellites located at 99W and 103W longitude as well for a total of 5 LNBs.

This allows the service to transmit high-definition television faster over satellite signal than was previously feasible using the older MPEG-2 compression and DSS protocol.

[122] On August 23, 2022, Amazon and DirecTV entered into a multi-year carriage agreement to broadcast Thursday Night Football only to business customers at no extra cost.

[121] In 2023, DirecTV signed an exclusive deal with Apple TV+ to broadcast MLS Season Pass and Friday Night Baseball, which both packages include in-market and out of market teams from each respective league, to its business customers only.

[125] Beginning in 2006, DirecTV began a series of commercials in which characters from popular movies and television shows break the fourth wall to tout the service's picture quality and the number of channels available in high definition.

"[126] These characters include Captain Kirk (William Shatner, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country), Bill Harding (Bill Paxton, Twister), The Economics Teacher (Ben Stein, Ferris Bueller's Day Off), Dr. Emmett Brown (Christopher Lloyd, Back to the Future), Burton Guster (Dulé Hill, Psych), C.J.

Parker (Pamela Anderson, Baywatch), Rick "Wild Thing" Vaughn (Charlie Sheen, Major League), Beyoncé (Upgrade U music video), Nadia (Shannon Elizabeth, American Pie), Turtle (Jerry Ferrara, Entourage), Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver, Aliens), Steve Freeling (Craig T. Nelson, Poltergeist), Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates, Misery), Mini-Me (Verne Troyer, Austin Powers in Goldmember), The Girl in the Ferrari (Christie Brinkley, National Lampoon's Vacation), Daisy Duke (Jessica Simpson, The Dukes of Hazzard), T-1000 (Robert Patrick, Terminator 2: Judgment Day), Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts, King Kong), Hellboy (Ron Perlman, Hellboy), Richard Hayden (David Spade, Tommy Boy), The Black Eyed Peas ("Meet Me Halfway" music video), Christina Aguilera ("Keeps Gettin' Better" music video) and Honey Hornee (Kim Basinger, Wayne's World 2).

The series of commercials both pays homage to the Goodson-Todman game show and take shots at both cable and DirecTV's archrival Dish Network, who later sued for false advertising.

In August 2011, Deion Sanders began appearing in DirecTV's ads for NFL Sunday Ticket, urging people to switch from cable.

These ads originally claimed NFL Sunday Ticket is now "free" for new customers for one year with a subscription to their Premiere package and a two-year contract.

[128] The DirecTV blimp named "lefty" was launched in October 2007 at the MLB World Series in Boston and has been seen all over the United States since its inception.