As Cord Cutting grows cable TV companies like DIRECTV have been getting hit hard recently as Americans look for ways to cut their bills as inflation hits their wallets. Now it has been reported that DIRECTV will be laying off hundreds of employees to help offset the losses.
According to a report by CNBC DIRECTV, about 10% of its managers will be laid off. According to the report, their last day will be January 20th, 2023.
“The entire pay-TV industry is impacted by the secular decline and the increasing rates to secure and distribute programming,” a DirecTV spokesperson said in a statement to CNBC. “We’re adjusting our operations costs to align with these changes and will continue to invest in new entertainment products and service enhancements.”
This news comes as it was recently announced that DIRECTV STREAM will be raising its price in 2023. A few weeks ago, DIRECTV started to notify customers of an upcoming price hike to include DIRECTV Stream. With this move, some customers will see their prices go up by as much as $10 a month but others will see just a $4 price hike.
“As is the case across pay TV providers, we’re adjusting the price of our video packages to keep pace with the rising costs of programming. In addition, we continue to experience higher-than-normal inflation across our suppliers.” DIRECTV said in a statement on their website.
DIRECTV did say if you have DIRECTV STREAM as part of an introductory offer, you will get to keep that price until your offer expires. The catch is if you change your plan, your price will be the new price right away.
Cable TV subscribers are also not immune from price hikes. Comcast and others have already started to announce price hikes on their TV plans plus fees.
Without all the other services that Comcast and Charter offer like home internet and home security DIRECTV is very vulnerable now to cord cutting. In the past, it was a member of the AT&T family but now it has been pushed off into a new company separate from all the support AT&T could offer in the past.