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Big increases in pay-TV prices—the result of rising programming costs—are set to be the "new norm," DirecTV's CFO Patrick Doyle said at an investor conference. "It behooves the industry to try to match up a little better with [programming] cost increases," Mr. Doyle told the Deutsche Bank investor conference. DirecTV, the second-largest pay-TV provider in the U.S., said last month it expects programming costs per subscriber to increase 8% in 2013. The satellite operator raised prices it charged consumers 4.5% at the start of this year.

Some of the key takeaways from DirecTV’s Q4 2012 earnings include a focus on improving financials and controlling costs in the U.S., continued aggressive expansion in Latin America and plans to increase investments in upgrading programs.

After a nine-day blackout that denied subscribers access to Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and other channels, the two companies reach agreement on a new long-term deal.

As the dispute between Viacom and DirecTV continued Wednesday, the conglomerate yanked access to some of its more popular programming that was available free on company websites. Fans can no longer watch full episodes of shows like "SpongeBob Squarepants" and "iCarly" or "Jersey Shore" and "The Daily Show," which is sure to further anger the 20 million DirecTV subscribers who continue to find a dark screen when they change the channel to Viacom-owned nets like Nick, MTV, Comedy Central and VH1.

Viacom Inc. said an impasse in contract talks with DirecTV is costing almost 20 million subscribers access to 26 channels, including MTV, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central. DirecTV dropped the channels late Tuesday when two sides couldn’t reach a new fee agreement, New York-based Viacom said in a blog post. There was no word on whether the companies would continue negotiating. “We are hopeful that DirecTV will work with us toward a resolution, and stop denying its subscribers access to the networks they watch most,” Viacom said.

DirecTV says it has reduced the programming hours of its 24-hour 3-D channel, n3D, due to a shortage of 3-D content.

Movie-theater owners responded with outrage to a report that four Hollywood studios signed on with a new video-on-demand proposition from DirecTV, offering movies to rent only 60 days after being released in theaters.

After years of promises and false starts, TV commercials targeted at individual homes may finally be ready for prime time. DirecTV Group is planning the biggest rollout yet of "addressable ads," allowing advertisers to reach close to 10 million homes with commercials tailored to each household. Dog owners, for instance, could see ads for dog food, not kitty litter, while families with children could be shown minivan spots.

The satellite TV provider agrees to pay $2.31 million, and the cable company $900,000, to settle charges of contacting customers who opted out of direct marketing telephone calls, the FTC says.

Federal government to DirecTV and Comcast cable: What part of Do Not Call didn't you understand?