UPDATE 2-DirecTV profit jumps on Latin subscriber adds

* Ex-items Q2 EPS 60 cents vs Wall St estimates 60 cents

* Q2 rev up 12 pct to $5.85 bln, vs estimates $5.73 bln

* Added 100,000 U.S. subscribers; 415,000 in Latin America

* Shares rise more than 4 percent in early trading (Adds results details, analyst comment, stock activity, byline)

By Franklin Paul

NEW YORK, Aug 5 (Reuters) - DirecTV (DTV.O) said Latin America subscriber additions tripled in the second quarter as World Cup fans kicked in for satellite TV service, driving profits up 33 percent and sending its shares higher.

The company's results, which included a surprising jump in U.S. subscribers, temporarily cooled concerns about growth in tough economic times, where consumers are increasingly sampling video content from the Internet.

"The customer additions were better than expected," said analyst Thomas Eagan of Collins Stewart. "There had been some concerns that they might in fact lose subscribers this quarter. They added at the same time as they increased ARPU (average revenue per user) so they didn't sacrifice a lot."

The leading satellite television provider, which competes with services from cable and phone companies, said its profit rose 33 percent to $543 million, or 42 cents a share, from $407 million, or $40 cents a share, a year earlier.

Revenue increased 12 percent to $5.85 billion.

Excluding items, earnings were 60 cents per share. DirecTV's profit on that basis matched analysts' views, but its revenue outpaced their expectations of $5.73 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Net subscriber additions at its Latin America unit jumped to 415,000, as demand in Brazil, Argentina and Colombia was stoked by the World Cup.

DirecTV also added 100,000 customers in the United States, down from a gain of 224,000 last year -- when many users moved to cable and satellite TV service after the over-the-air signals were shifted to digital from analog.

The gains outpaced the forecast of several analysts, including Matthew Harrigan of Wunderlich Securities, who saw net subscriber additions of 55,000 in the United States, and 303,000 in Latin America. On average, analysts expected U.S. additions of about 60,000.

DirecTV's results come on the same day that cable TV rivals Time Warner Cable (TWC.N) and Cablevision (CVC.N) reported mixed results, with Time Warner's subscriber base shrinking, while Cablevison's grew. However, both added subscribers to their growth areas -- home phone and Internet service. [ID:nN04102750]

DirecTV also said it repurchased some $1.7 billion in stock in the quarter and plans to buy back another $2 billion in shares.

Shares of DirecTV rose 4.3 percent to $39.53 in early trading. The stock has climbed about 12 percent this year, and 41 percent in the past 12 months. By contrast, shares of smaller rival DISH Network Corp (DISH.O) have slipped about 3 percent this year. (Reporting by Franklin Paul and Yinka Adegoke, editing by Gerald E. McCormick and Maureen Bavdek)