DirecTV is making bold, strategic moves across multiple fronts—from innovating ad formats to expanding streaming options and targeting Spanish-speaking audiences. The company is leaning hard into the future of television, aiming to modernize both how viewers watch and how advertisers engage.
Pause Ads Are Here to Stay
At the Cannes Lions 2025 Festival, Matt Van Houten, SVP of Ad Sales at DirecTV, made it clear: Pause Ads are going mainstream. These subtle ad formats, which appear when viewers pause content, are proving highly effective and non-intrusive.
According to Van Houten, Pause Ads drive up to 38% higher unaided brand recall compared to traditional formats. With clickable features like QR codes, storefronts, and VOD links, they're transforming passive moments into marketing gold.
DirecTV recently partnered with programmatic platform TripleLift to enable the first programmatic Pause Ad buys, bringing automation and scale to this emerging ad space. The innovation even won the company an Emmy in 2023 for technological achievement.
Blurring the Line Between Linear and Digital
DirecTV’s advertising strategy now bridges linear TV and digital platforms. By making its set-top boxes programmatically enabled, DirecTV can serve targeted ads to broadband-connected homes in real-time—essentially bringing digital advertising tactics to traditional TV.
But not everything is smooth sailing. Van Houten called out standardization as a major hurdle, with varying ad infrastructures across platforms making scale tricky. However, industry initiatives like Go Addressable and the IAB Ad Tech Lab are working toward unifying these approaches, with broader adoption expected by late 2025.
Satellite Steps Back as Streaming Surges
In a quiet but telling experiment, DirecTV has stopped offering satellite subscriptions to new customers in select urban markets, pushing them instead toward streaming-only options.
A company spokesperson described the move as a “limited-time trial” aimed at accelerating awareness of DirecTV's streaming platform, which is now available on devices like Roku, Apple TV, Fire Stick, and the company’s own Gemini device. This shift reflects the broader industry trend of ditching the dish in favor of broadband.
For now, rural areas still have satellite access—especially where high-speed internet is lacking—but DirecTV is clearly testing the waters of a post-satellite future.
Spanish-Language Viewers Get a Major Boost
As part of its mission to personalize content, DirecTV has also struck a landmark deal with TelevisaUnivision to bring ViX Premium with Ads to its MiEspañol Genre Pack. This gives subscribers access to original series, movies, and more than 80,000 hours of content, including soccer from over 20 global leagues.
At $34.99/month, the MiEspañol pack is now an even stronger value proposition for U.S. Hispanics seeking Spanish-language entertainment with flexible, non-contract options.
Looking Ahead: A Tech-Driven, Inclusive TV Future
Between Pause Ads, programmatic innovations, flexible genre-based bundles, and a slow-but-steady move away from satellites, DirecTV is rewriting its playbook.
Van Houten summed it up best: “Technology and data are democratizing TV advertising.” Whether you're a local auto body shop or a Fortune 500 brand, DirecTV wants you on its platform—with tools that make premium TV more accessible than ever.
As the company continues to lean into utility over disruption and personalization over legacy, it's clear that the next phase of television isn’t just coming—it’s already here.
