DirecTV still bullish on 2009

DirecTV Group Inc. said Tuesday that although it remained bullish about 2009, hiring would be frozen and all but the most crucial capital projects would be suspended as visibility on the economy stayed poor.

The nation’s largest satellite TV provider also has beefed up some promotions and plans to raise rates for next year.

Still, the El Segundo company said the slowing economy hadn’t made much of a dent in its business. DirecTV expects fourth-quarter and full-year financial results to show an increase over 2007 and next year’s subscriber rolls to grow.

“Despite the slowing economy, we remain quite bullish about 2009 to date. The economy has not had a material impact on our business,” said Jonathan Rubin, senior vice president of financial planning and investor relations, at a media conference in New York.

DirecTV’s partnership with AT&T; Inc. to resell each other’s services in bundled packages next year should bring in additional subscribers, he said.

The company plans to continue to press its HD offerings.

Shares of DirecTV fell 54 cents to $22.79.