Two DirecTV data center and broadcast facilities are up for sale in Arizona.
Via LoopNet, Thomas Company is offering 401 Direct Drive in Benson and 9608 E Old Vail Road in Tucson as for sale. The Benson site is available for $4 million and Tucson for $8.47 million.
Both properties are single-story data centers, uplink, and broadcasting facilities; the Tucson site totals 14,430 sq ft (1,340 sqm) on a 13.4-acre site, and the Benson site totals 6,980 sq ft (650 sqm) on just under 5 acres. The former was built in 2007, the latter in 2006.
They were recently renewed with 20-year deals, with around 19 years remaining on each lease to 2043, and are currently occupied by AT&T-owned satellite TV provider DirecTV; being offered under a triple net lease (NNN) basis.
The sites are described as “mission critical” for DirectTV’s day-to-day operations and “part of the technical core, housing critical infrastructure that makes broadcast signals viable.”
DirecTV was launched by Hughes Electronics and United States Satellite Broadcasting (USSB) in 1994, offering satellite TV services. DirecTV manages a fleet of 12 satellites in geostationary orbit.
Hughes Electronics was nearly acquired by EchoStar/Dish around 2002 but the deal was scrapped the same year. News Corporation acquired a minority stake in the firm a year later, which was taken over by Liberty Media in 2006.
Liberty then split off a number of units into a new company named DirecTV. The new DirecTV was acquired by AT&T in 2014 in a $48.5 billion deal. AT&T then sold a 30 percent stake to TPG in 2021. The company is also listed on Nasdaq.
Another DirecTV facility in California was up for sale last year.
According to a DesignTech Inc. case study, DirecTV has at least three Uplink facilities across the US. The engineering firm notes each facility is generally comprised of two separate buildings (primary and backup) that work in conjunction with satellite antennas at the sites.
The buildings – ranging in size from 7,500 sq ft to 22,000 sq ft – comprise raised floor data center-type rooms, office suites, and mechanical/electrical infrastructure rooms. A typical primary building is supported by dual 3,000 amp utility electric services, 2,000 KW standby generators, and 500 KVA UPS units.
Another case study from HyderInc notes the company has one facility in Castle Rock, Colorado.
