DirecTV Settles Suits With Rural Companies

DirecTV Inc., the No. 1 U.S. satellite broadcaster, said it settled lawsuits with a rural group that resells its satellite television services, an action that puts DirecTV on a path to gain control of its relationships with rural customers.

Shares of the group’s largest member, Pegasus Communications Corp., fell 37% after the National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative agreed to hand subscribers back to DirecTV’s control in 2011 as part of a settlement of their four-year-old litigation.

Under the DirecTV-NRTC settlement, which requires court approval, DirecTV would pay $150 for each subscriber it takes back from NRTC members.

Shares of DirecTV parent Hughes Electronics Corp. rose 30 cents to $13.70 on the New York Stock Exchange. Pegasus shares fell $13.80 to $23.10 on Nasdaq.

From Reuters