Waiting for the cable guy, the Internet guy, or the air conditioner guy are tedious life necessities, like doing laundry or visiting the in-laws. But they are vastly more expensive. According to a new poll, American workers lost a total of $37.7 billion waiting around for in-house appointments in 2011.
Millions of TV lovers hit by the weak economy and fat cable bills are going old-school: They're using antennas. That's right: The rabbit ears your grandmother jiggled to tune in "I Love Lucy" can still receive dozens of digital channels on HDTVs. Here's how you can rule the free airwaves.
Everything is right in the universe for DIRECTV, given this weekend's successful kickoff of the new pro football season. DIRECTV subscribers know that there are alternatives out there, but that's not going to sway the couch potatoes, all 30 million of them. Not even rival DISH can eclipse our largest entertainment subscription service.
Last week's puzzling developments on the Street included: Bank of New York alienating its richest depositors; Microsoft and Google fighting like middle-schoolers; DirecTV's CFO making an embarrassing disclosure; and Netflix slowing down as it approached the millionth Canadian milestone.
Plenty of big names are set to report their earnings in August, including the country's largest cable and satellite television providers, several of China's leading dot-coms, radio giant Sirius XM, car rental companies Zipcar and Avis, and the two biggest video game developers.
Sometimes stock movements are the result of thoughtful, well-reasoned decisions, and sometimes...well, you just have to scratch your head. Here's a roundup of five of the most foolish stock moves from the past week.
Comcast has a tight grip on Philadelphia sports fans with its SportsNet Philadelphia channel, which has been the exclusive carrier of games from the Phillies, Flyers and 76ers. But now Comcast will have to make the channel available to satellite-TV providers, thanks to FCC-approved terms of its deal for NBC Universal.
Soon, the Internet won't be the only medium to offer advertisers the ability to closely target specific types of customers. Starting in August or September, DirecTV plans to launch a new personalized advertising service for television. Can it bring the scope of TV to highly targeted ads?
This week's episode of Undercover Boss will explore the recurring theme of disconnect between frontline worker and front office at America's large companies. With his newly acquired scruffy beard, DirecTV CEO Mike White will go on service calls, work in one of the company's call centers, and spend some time in its warehouse.
Prestige means a lot in Hollywood. TV companies use a show's Emmy Award to help sell commercials, and advertisers enjoy being linked with hot shows. Sometimes, an Emmy can even help a program avoid the ax.
