Bruce Churchill, President, DirecTV Latin America
When DirecTV appointed PepsiCo CEO Michael White to replace Chase Carey as CEO of DirecTV, Chairman John Malone made sure to tell the Wall Street Journal that Bruce Churchill was considered the internal frontrunner to the position. The reason behind this may be the fact that under Churchill’s leadership, DirecTV Latin America has experienced tremendous profit growth and a steady surge of new subscribers.
DirecTV Latin America provides service in the region through three divisions: Brazil, Mexico and PanAmericana, which by itself has grown to serve more than 2.3 millions subscribers throughout nine territories: Argentina, Caribbean, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Puerto Rico, Venezuela and Uruguay. While the economic environment in 2009 challenged most of the consumer video market to break-even, DirecTV Latin America recorded a record-breaking year in one of the most competitive regions in the world.
Churchill produced double-digit revenue gains in every single quarter and grew DirecTV Latin America’s customer base by 500,000 subscribers, or 16 percent, to 4.3 million in nine months. He also reduced DirecTV Latin America’s monthly churn rate to 1.75 percent and made efforts to reduce the company’s expenses per subscriber to $56. Churchill also projects that DirecTV will reach 6.2 million DTH subscriptions by the end of the year. This number includes DirecTV’s businesses in Brazil and Mexico, where DirecTV Latin America has 74 percent ownership of Sky Brasil.
Churchill has grown DirecTV to be the second largest pay-TV provider in the country with more than 1.7 million subscribers. In Mexico, where DirecTV Latin America has a 41 percent ownership of Sky Mexico, Churchill has seen the company become the leading pay-TV provider in the country with more than 1.8 million subscribers. In 2009, DirecTV Latin America was also a major contributor to the evolution of HD programming in the region, incorporating new interactive features, digital video recorder services and electronic program guides.
Churchill has made the Latin American division so valuable, rumors are circulating that the parent company may spin off DirecTV Latin America in order to make DirecTV’s U.S. operations more attractive and affordable to possible acquirers.
Philip Elias, CEO, Velocity Broadcasting
In 2009, Philip Elias, CEO of Velocity Broadcasting, engineered continued growth and expansion by leading the development of a private broadcasting initiative to serve the meetings and events industry. The private broadcasts are fully encrypted and delivered via EchoStar Satellite to invitation-only audiences.
The development enabled Velocity to generate 30 percent of its business from new broadcast clients in 2009 and demonstrate a healthy return on investment for broadcast clients in industries ranging from pharmaceutical, financial and education. As a result, new business leads in 2009 increased by nearly 60 percent over 2008.
Elias also expanded Velocity’s reach in 2009, making it a global satellite broadcasting network and enabling broadcast clients to assemble an audience anywhere in the world. Velocity can simulcast live to different regions, synchronizing communication across time zones to suit audience requirements. Additionally, Elias introduced a platform of new technology to clients that included HD2PC, HD direct-to-PC delivery of private broadcast television, and Mind over Matter Business Intelligence Suite, an array of audience response tools and technology that allows broadcast clients to tap directly into the mindset of the audience, while also empowering audiences to question the experts live on the air.
Velocity secured broadcast clients in a host of industries throughout 2009, achieving significant traction in the pharmaceutical sector. New broadcast clients in this industry include companies such as Nobel Biocare, Medtronic, AstraZeneca, Novartis, Shire, Schering-Plough, Bristol-Myers Squib, Cardiovascular Research Foundation, Novo Nordisk and World Diabetes Day. These organizations conducted product rollouts, educational presentations and other instructional demonstrations about new medical technologies and new medicine being introduced into the market. Many of these clients held several broadcasts throughout the year, realizing significant return on investment.
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