Direct TV

one of BRK’s new holdings…your thoughts? I don’t think I understand this whole business though the financials look quite decent.

I’ve looked at competitors in the past. While the US is completely saturated, growth opportunites are open around the world in developing countries. This seems to be the main catalyst for consideration.

I don’t have cable or anythng so not intact with the whole media distribution thing…

Is Direct TV the same thing as cable? whats the diff? if i get direct tv,am I able to get all the PPVs?

also, if i get direct tv, does that mean i get all the cable channels? do i simply bypass a comcast?

The difference is with Direct TV when it rains you lose your signal. Otherwise it’s pretty much the same. Direct TV does have a production and distribution arm though. That’s a little different.

Anyway, who cares? BRK’s already in. No fun just following guys. If I wanted to do that I’d play this chart instead:

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/complete-latest-hedge-fund-holdings-analysis

well, just cause they’re in it doesn’t mean the stock can’t get cheaper and it does not mean i shouldn’t invest in it…nothing wrong with following guys if where they’re going makes sense?

it would be stupid to not follow when in fact its the right thing to do…

but its for knowledge purposes in this case…

Direct TV provides services through satellite transmissions whereas cable tv uses coaxial cables. The main difference is price. Both offers different packages in terms of number of channels, HD.

No. it depends on the selection of your package.

So, I know you don’t have car, gf, tv. what else you dont have…lols

Damn this is really interesting, their trend looks solid. Definitely merits more digging. Could be Ted Weschler’s pick.

I believe this and the dialysis company (DaVita?) were the largest holdings in Weschler’s previous fund. I think DirectTV’s weakness is broadband which is inferior due to latency. As more content is consumed over broadband (ex. YouTube, Hulu, etc.) instead of the traditional programming channels it will be tough sledding for DirectTV. All else equal, I would prefer to own a cable provider over DirectTV.

the only satellite i was aware of is one my buddy would scramble before to watch all the big fights.

so directtv pays the cable companies for the signals to send to you right? price is the only diff? what about variety? what if i want to watch a channel in india or something? or european football? or latin america boxing?

I don’t have much but I do have access to all the good financial literature a man can want. speaking of which, i think i’m going to subscribe to some new mags like harvard biz journal etc

if i get money, i would like to have a bloomberg terminal at my house but that pretty much requires a fortune to own.

I think his increasing position in General Dynamics is pretty interesting. I posted a few mos ago some of the US midsize defense firms are undervalued (RTN, GD, NOC), and they are the perfect size for Buffet to buy whole. Buffett has actually invested in GD before I believe in the early 90s.

Could this be the next “elephant”? Keep in mind he’s close with Obama and possibly has a decent picture of what US defense budget might look like.

One caveat is that he’s a diehard liberal, and I don’t know if defense would fit into his political views, who knows though.

i got in on it too last summer…not the best out there though…but its a small position…doubt he will buy it whole…its just way too close to the USG…

So out of curiosity, what was your case for buying GD? I might be moving towards that instead of Northrop Grumman, will definitely have to look real closely at this annual report given both us and Warren are looking at it.

you see his interview yesterday on CNBC with Becky “i’m still hot” quick??

on GD, top of its industry selling at a fair multiple…i looked at all its closest competitors and found problems with them all (i wont’ spoil it for you)…i like their direction in Intelligence and Aerospace …i’m also bullish on the long term defense budget…its not in my top 5 holding…