DIRECTV Per history

In 1990, the company launched DIRECTV as a separate division of Hughes Communications.

In December 1993, the company's first satellite was launched, ascending then resting 23 ,000 miles above the earth.

The company boasted approximat ely 350,000 subscribers by the end of 1994, exceeding its expectation s, and was gaining new subscribers at a rate of 3,000 per day.

By June 1995, DIRECTV h ad more than 500,000 subscribers scattered across the United States, with projections calling for the company to slip past the one-million th-subscriber mark by the end of 1995.

1996: A record one million subscribers sign up during the year .

In early 1998, the cable industry was beginning to embrace the technology, which as it h ad for DBS operators, would increase capacity and picture quality.

In January 1999, Hughes annou nced the acquisition of DIRECTV's major partner, United States Satell ite Broadcasting, and DIRECTV's closest competitor, Primestar, as wel l as the purchase of two high-power satellites.

On the cable side, AT&T Broadband bowed out after Comcast Corporation acquired its cable and Internet operations for a staggering $54 billion in late 2002, giving DIRECTV's most formid able foe a new name.

With the interdictive assault by Ergen bru shed aside, Murdoch renewed talks with General Motors, reaching an ag reement with the car maker to acquire a 34 percent controlling stake in Hughes Electronics in April 2003.

Krause, Reinhardt, "Murdoch's Channeled His DIRECTV Efforts into Taking Subscribers from Cable Firms," Investor's Business Daily, August 6, 2004, p A1.

In 2013, DIRECTV purchased LifeShield, a company that produces wireless home security systems.

In 2014, the company began negotiating with AT&T, and AT&T later purchased the company.

In July of 2015, the deal was approved by the FCC. It included requiring AT&T to expand its existing fiber optic broadband service to more customers, schools, and libraries.