DirecTV, in an announcement, appointed Anthony Vinciquerra to its board of directors. In another move, the largest satellite television provider in the United States also added another former executive from the Fox TV Networks to the board.

Vinciquerra was a senior adviser to Texas Pacific Group for the technology, media and telecommunications industries. He is also the former chairman and CEO of Fox Networks Group, as well as work at the Hearst Corp's broadcasting arm and CBS Corp's television station group back in the 1990's.

The company is based out of El Segundo CA and is struggling to expand its customer base as it fends off increasing programming fees from rivals such as CBS and 21st Century Fox Inc. The operator, which has a subscriber base of 20 million, blocked Viacom Inc programming for ten full days last year after the two parties failed to reach and formalize a new contract.

According to DirecTV CEO Mike White, through a statement, "Tony is a stellar addition to our board and his counsel will be extremely valuable to DirecTV as we continue to navigate through fiercely competitive environment and increasingly difficult contract negotiations with programmers."