DISH Network (DISH) reported Monday a 1.4% increase in its 2009 fourth quarter revenue to $2.96 billion. In the fourth quarter of 2008, DISH's revenues were $2.92 billion. The news wasn't as good for DISH's earnings. Diluted earnings of 40 cents per share were lower than the 48 cents per share it earned in the 2008 quarter.

For the fiscal year, DISH saw total revenue of $11.66 billion -- 0.4% better than the $11.62 billion logged in the previous fiscal year. The network gained 249,000 net subscribers during the past quarter, pushing the year-end subscription numbers to 14.1 million by year's end.

"In recent months, DirecTV (NASDAQ: DTV) has shown that pay television is recession-resistant; indeed, the company has been dishing up subscriber growth," says Richard Moroney.

In his Dow Theory Forecasts, the advisor explains why the satellite-TV system operator is among those select stocks consider to be "Focus List" buys -- the top long-term buy rating in their model portfolio.

"In the nearly 15 years since DirecTV sold its first satellite-television system, the company has grown to serve more than 18 million U.S. subscribers, or 16% of the country's households. DirecTV also operates in Latin America, where it generates 12% of revenue.

DirecTV (NYSE: DTV - option chain) shares are basically flat today, but with today's market that is great performance. The company announced a deal Friday after the close that DTV and AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) will launch a co-branded satellite television service that will be available to AT&T customers beginning after T's current deal with Dish Network (NASDAQ: DISH) expires early next year. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but this is a big move for the smaller company and DISH is down more than 13% currently. If you think that the stock won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on DTV.

DTV opened this morning at $26.05. So far today the stock has hit a low of $26.05 and a high of $27.30. As of 12:25, DTV is trading at $26.54, down one cent (-0.04%). The chart for DTV looks neutral and S&P gives DTV a 3 STARS (out of 5) hold ranking.

For a bullish hedged play on this stock, I would consider an November bull-put credit spread below the $22.50 range. A bull-put credit spread is an options position that combines the purchase and sale of put options to hedge risk in case the stock doesn't do what you think but still leverage nice returns. For this particular trade, we will make an 11.1% return in just eight weeks as long as DTV is above $22.50 at November expiration. Direct TV would have to fall by more than 14% before we would start to lose money. Learn more about this type of trade here.

DTV hasn't been below $22.50 since February and has shown support around $24.50 recently.

Brent Archer is an options analyst and writer at Investors Observer.

DISCLOSURE: Mr. Archer owns and/or controls diversified portfolios of long and short stock and option positions that may include holdings in companies he writes about. At publication time, Brent neither owns nor controls positions in DTV nor DISH, but he does control a bullish hedged position on T.

Walter Cronkite is coming back. I know you've been holding your breath since he retired in 1981, but it's OK. He is expected to take a job as an anchor on a cable network called Retirement Living TV. Florence Henderson is also on the network. Sounds like a recipe for a ratings blockbuster.

The network celebrated its one-year anniversary last week, and only has coverage on DIRECTV Group Inc.'s (NYSE: DTV) network for 8 hours a day. It is also broadcast on Comcast Corp.'s (NASDAQ: CMCSA) CN8 for 4 hours.

Retirement Living bills itself as "the new voice of a generation underserved by the media industry. We hope to change not only the way you watch TV, but the way you live your life."

But the question is whether seniors really want to watch "old people TV". My grandmother likes to watch CNN and E! to keep up with the latest celebrity gossip -- makes her feel young. In a society with such an emphasis on youth, are Florence Henderson and Walter Cronkite really a good way to attract seniors?

So far the network has failed to catch on big, and I don't expect it will.

Cable stocks were down a bit with the market this morning as Time Warner Inc. (NYSE:TWX), Time Warner Cable (TWC), and Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) are all lower. The one bit of possibly troubling news is the potential agreement between Major League Baseball getting the exclusive "Away-Game" pact with DirectTV Group, Inc. (NYSE:DTV). The weak stock market is hurting even DirecTV, with DTV shares down over 1% right after the open.

For a satellite company to get an exclusive on away-games is simply flabergasting. This deal is certain to have many critics. DirecTV sent a letter to the FCC on Friday detailing its $700 million deal over a 7-year period starting in 2009. Senator John Kerry has also asked the FCC to investigate the deal.

The away-game package has been available through iNDemand for some time, but this would be exclusive to DirecTV and via the league's website. INHD is available as part of the high-def offerings from cable operators and is owned by INDEMAND Networks, whose shareholders are Comcast INDEMAND Holdings, Inc., Cox Communications Holdings, Inc., and Time Warner Entertainment - Advance/Newhouse Partnership.

Worried about the futures of companies with huge television and cable businesses, like News Corporation (NYSE:NWS), Viacom, Inc. (NYSE:VIA), Time Warner Inc. (NYSE:TWX) and General Electric Company (NYSE:GE), as American consumers supposedly watch less TV?

Count the sheer number of television sets around the country these days and it will ease your worries. In barber shops, tanning salons, grocery stores, day cares, massage parlors and pizza joints -- Americans love their television viewing time. In fact, TVs now outnumber the quantity of actual humans inside U.S. households. There are 2.73 televisions and only 2.53 actual people in the average American home.

This stat flies in the face of research that says television networks are losing throngs of customers to ad-skipping TiVo and Internet browsing, among other things.

Is television viewing on the decline? The number of TVs would *seem* to indicate that TVs are being utilized now more than ever.

New TV technology is a big part of that story. Huge and heavy CRT televisions are now being replaced by LCD TVs at a fast rate, which opens up new areas where TVs can be placed. It's hard to have a 15" TV on the kitchen counter, but you can throw a 15" LCD TV there pretty easily these days without compromising space. Why not watch The Food Channel while cooking up a Paula Deen recipe in the food center of every home, the kitchen? Paula would call that faintsy.

With half of American homes having three televisions these days -- and only 19% having just one -- it's hard to imagine the television going away anytime soon. That would be some packed landfills in the next decade if predictions of "the death of TV" were to come true!

It's the content that will come across those screens that is likely to change, yes? HDTV, cable television, DBS satellite and possibly WiMAX-TV will all be battling for each viewer while still trying to get viewers to watch advertising that gadgets will make an afterthought. So, how many TVs do you have in your household?