The nation’s largest satellite-television provider added 301,000 new subscriptions over the final few months of 2008.

That’s the company’s biggest quarterly increase in more than three years.

All told, just over 1 million customers signed on with DirecTV last year.

The monthly churn rate - industry lingo for the percentage of customers who bail on service - was flat during Q4. I can’t imagine anyone with NFL Sunday Ticket discontinuing service midway through the football season.

These numbers help prove the theory that people are spending more money on in-home entertainment during these tough economic times.

DirecTV is raising rates, effective March 4. Most customers will see a $3 - $5 increase for monthly services.