DirecTV Grows

Think consumers are reining in entertainment spending now that times are tough? Think again.

DirecTV (Nasdaq: DTV) gained 460,000 net new subscribers in its latest quarter, on 7 percent year-over-year revenue growth. Consumers must be scaling back on other expenses, while signing up for TV programming packages. Earnings per share fell 38 percent due to heavy investment in promotional offers to recruit new customers — but that should pay off in time.

The same story is playing out elsewhere. Comcast lost 2 percent of its standard cable customers since last year, but more than made up for that with 8 percent growth in its digital cable customer base. Verizon's FiOS service, the newest, smallest and most high-tech kid on the block, is growing by leaps and bounds.

Throw in healthy growth for video rental expert Netflix (a Motley Fool Stock Advisor pick), and it looks like many Americans are trying to beat the blues with a heavy dose of mindless entertainment. (We'll see whether these gains will be sustainable when the good times start to roll again. By then, many customers may stick around simply because they enjoy the service.)

Investors can take heart that those who sign up for on-demand services, triple-play package deals, high-definition programming and other fancy extras tend to stay around longer, and that's where the growth happens to be these days.