DirecTV Group Inc., owner of the nation's largest satellite TV service, will open a call center in Tulsa, employing 1,300 workers, officials said Monday.
El Segundo, Calif.-based DirecTV will open the new 93,000-square foot facility in east Tulsa this summer as it expands customer service before launching more television services, according to a statement from the Tulsa Metro Chamber.
DirecTV hopes to open the center July 15 with 650 customer service representatives and hire another 650 employees by the end of the year, said Robert Mercer, public relations director for the company.
The first half of the hires will be West Corp. employees, who already provide DirecTV's technical support, Mercer said. Others will be hired locally.
The company, which is partially owned by News Corp.'s Fox Entertainment Group, will open another call center in Huntsville, Ala., later this summer and will hire about 700 employees, he said.
The new customer service jobs will have a total economic impact of $72 million annually in the Tulsa region, through their income and the generation of support jobs, according to Chamber economist Bob Ball.
In the statement, DirecTV executive vice president Peter Giacalone said the company chose Tulsa for its experienced telecommunications workers and because of the state's Quality Jobs Program, which offers tax credits to businesses creating new jobs in Oklahoma.
"With plans for launching more advanced television services, including digital video recorders, interactivity, high-definition television and local channels, DirecTV will ensure that support is readily available to customers when they need it," Giacalone said.
Company and Tulsa officials scheduled a news conference to announce the call center Tuesday at 10 a.m. The Associated Press obtained the statement in advance.
The additional jobs come after the city lost about 25,000 jobs the last two years, as major employers including Williams Cos., MCI and American Airlines laid off workers. In one 12-month period, the city lost jobs faster than any city outside California's Silicon Valley.
DirecTV, known as Hughes Electronics until March, provides satellite television to 12.6 million customers. Fox Entertainment, in which News Corp. has an 82 percent stake, controls 34 percent of DirecTV.
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