Earnings Preview: DirecTV to report 3Q earnings

OVERVIEW: DirecTV is the nation's largest satellite TV operator and the second-largest pay-TV provider after Comcast Corp.

The El Segundo, Calif.-based company has been pulling away from rival Dish Network Corp., snagging a distribution agreement with AT&T Inc. after the phone company ditched Dish. The agreement calls for AT&T to resell DirecTV satellite TV after Jan. 31 in markets where it doesn't offer U-verse, the phone company's own advanced video services.

Media mogul John Malone's Liberty Media Corp., which owns 48 percent of DirecTV, is planning to spin off its stake and other entertainment assets into a publicly traded company to be called Liberty Entertainment Inc. The move is being evaluated given market conditions.

BY THE NUMBERS: Analysts are forecasting earnings of 35 cents per share in the quarter on revenue of $4.89 billion, according to an average estimate collected by Thomson Reuters.

ANALYST TAKE: One concern is erosion in the popularity of digital subscriber line, or DSL, service. Satellite TV customers often choose DSL for Internet service. But they could be attracted to the local cable company's faster Internet service and be lured away from satellite and into buying cable TV in a discounted bundle.

Also, pricing for DirecTV's expensive NFL Sunday Ticket program is vulnerable to any cuts in football fans' discretionary spending.

STOCK PERFORMANCE: Shares of DirecTV have fallen 2.7 percent year-to-date. In afternoon trading on Wednesday, the stock fell $1.27, or 5.6 percent, to $21.22.