UPDATE 4-DirecTV quarterly sales up but shares decline

* Q2 EPS $0.40 vs estimates $0.43

* Q2 rev up 9 pct to $5.22 bln vs estimates $5.19 bln

* Added 224,000 U.S. subscribers

* Lowers full-year ARPU growth forecast

* Shares fall 2.3 pct (Adds share move, ARPU outlook, comments by interim CEO)

NEW YORK, Aug 6 (Reuters) - DirecTV Group Inc (DTV.O) warned that more customers were growing wary of paying for costly premium services, dragging its shares down 3.5 percent although it reported a 9 percent gain in quarterly revenue on strong subscriber growth.

The satellite operator said on Thursday its second-quarter revenue rose to $5.22 billion from $4.81 billion. That was slightly above Wall Street's average forecast for $5.19 billion, according to Reuters Estimates.

The company trimmed its annual forecast for growth in average revenue per user (ARPU) to a range of 1 percent to 2 percent growth from a previous 2 to 3 percent, blaming a weaker economy as well as a lack of compelling content.

"The primary reason for the lower growth is that we're continuing to see more customers ... purchasing less premium packages and pay per view titles, particularly in the area of adult and events," interim Chief Executive Larry Hunter said on a conference call.

"More customers are finding less value in premium channels, particularly because of the tough economic environment."

While ARPU for the second quarter rose 1.7 percent from a year earlier to $83.16 due to price increases and a shift to costlier services like high-definition video, the company said the gain was somewhat offset by promotions.

Analysts have also cited stiff competition from cable operators and rival Dish Network Corp (DISH.O).

Shares in the company fell 60 cents to $25.16 in early afternoon trading, compared with a 0.79 percent decline in the Nasdaq composite index .IXIC.

Despite the sell-off, however, analysts said the second-quarter results showed the company was managing to execute well otherwise.

It added a net 224,000 subscribers in the United States, up 74 percent from the year-ago quarter and higher than many analysts had expected, as it began a joint campaign with AT&T Inc (T.N) to offer bundled video, phone and Internet services.

Kaufman Brothers analyst Todd Mitchell had forecast 205,000 net additions.

Net profit fell to $407 million from $455 million a year earlier due to higher expenses, including costs to acquire subscribers and to improve service quality. But profit per share was flat with a year earlier at 40 cents due to share repurchases.

DirecTV said revenue in Latin America rose 11 percent to $680 million as it acquired 128,000 net new subscribers, despite difficult economic and currency trends in the region.

"Despite our long-held skepticism about the long-term strategic prospects for a stand-alone satellite operator, DirecTV continues to execute at a very high level, quarter after quarter after quarter," said Bernstein Research analyst Craig Moffett.

DirecTV has been searching for a new chief executive, and plans to combine with some media assets owned by parent company Liberty Media Corp (LINTA.O) LCAPA.O LMDIA.O to create a new, larger company.

The company said it believes the Liberty deal was on track to be completed within the next couple of months. (Reporting by Ritsuko Ando; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick and Richard Chang)