AT&T To Buy DIRECTV for $67 Billion

Status
Please reply by conversation.
I liked this part ..." Finally, the low cash component places the merger at risk in that Dish Networks (DISH) could counter with a higher cash component that satisfies both the DTV shareholders and the regulators, thereby sparking a bidding war. "

If Dish & Directv do try to merge,wouldn't they still have the problem they are having now in not having a way to bundle their services(outside of Dish Net,HughesNet Gen4 & Exede satellite services),unless Dish could also purchase either Sprint or T-Mobile?
 
Yeah, Directv + Dish doesn't have any of the benefits this merger provides other than 'get bigger' and would provide many more consumers with fewer options than any other merger.

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk
 
I thought that Charlie said that he doesn't have the funds to do another buy out attempt. After all he has spent a lot of money on bandwith that has yet to be used.
 
The programming will remain, the customer service however is a different question. Although I have to admit AT&T has REALLY improved with their cell phone customer service over the past few years.

Both D* and AT&T already "outsource" a majority of their telephone customer service.. I doubt much will change.
 
I have UVerse for TV so I am mixed how I feel about this whole deal.. As long as my IPTV service stays as is (or gets additional channels) I am fine.

I see this really as a way for AT&T to have their own service provider to offer video to rural areas (or areas they don't want to upgrade to UVerse). They already have the partnership with DirecTV to offer video so now they will just own the company and not be a partner.

I said this elsewhere. I could see AT&T try to offer a "triple play" bundle to rural folks - DirecTV (satellite) and LTE (DATA) Cell (Voice) to rural customers they don't want to "upgrade" to VDSL based Uverse due to distance/cost/ROI.
 
I have UVerse for TV so I am mixed how I feel about this whole deal.. As long as my IPTV service stays as is (or gets additional channels) I am fine.

I see this really as a way for AT&T to have their own service provider to offer video to rural areas (or areas they don't want to upgrade to UVerse). They already have the partnership with DirecTV to offer video so now they will just own the company and not be a partner.

I said this elsewhere. I could see AT&T try to offer a "triple play" bundle to rural folks - DirecTV (satellite) and LTE (DATA) Cell (Voice) to rural customers they don't want to "upgrade" to VDSL based Uverse due to distance/cost/ROI.
Not wanting to and being able to are 2 different things ...
Currently U Verse only goes about 5000 ft from the VRAD for TV.
 
Att would be better off buying companies like Cox and charter than directv. Att biggest mistake was selling att broadband to Comcast. I was hoping Charlie would merge with directv.

How will this affect Sunday ticket? Contract expires after next year (2015) and of att buys directv then they could put Sunday ticket on att universe also.
Maybe the nfl will open Sunday ticket to all operators or allow people to just buy the package that allows online and mobile access and leave tv access to directv.
NFL ST IS open to all providers. D* just out bids them all. Of course Dish never puts in a serious bid because Charlie never buys anything unless he can make money from it. And Dish is not really interested in sports anyway.
Dish is missing 4 RSN's in the two largest US tv markets.
 
Now Comcast's,Cox's,TWC's,& Brighthouse Network's In Demand PPV/VOD service would be a different story as far as obtaining NFL ST goes.

To my knowledge, The NFL does not want to get into a situation of having to deal with a plethora of cable companies. Hence the reason the NFL has been exclusive to one partner.
And it makes sense. Imagine the NFL people having to hammer out contracts with TW, Comcast, Cox, Charter, Cablevision, etc?
 
One other issue. All cable companies are not created equal. Just because one sends a check to Charter or Comcast or TWC does not mean the system that serves their area is the same as a neighboring county or a city 20 miles away.
For example, TWC is here in a suburban county of Charlotte, NC. The plant and equipment is ancient here compared to Charlotte. The system that serves this area does not have the same channel capacity. The internet speeds are slower as well.
Be wary of the disclaimer "may not be available in all areas"....
 
What bugs the crap out of me is when the federal govt broke up the Bell System, one of the conditions was that we as consumers would be free to choose both our long distance and local telco provider. The former started almost immediately. The latter NEVER happened. AT&T has used this loophole to gobble up not only nearly every former "Baby Bell", but has never been available wherever. In other words, the whole thing was a big lie.
By the way I understood this thing that happened in 1985( Breakup of Ma Bell) was I would be able to choose my local provider. I cannot. I am stuck with POTS company Windstream. A company i refuse to do business with because according to some people that work there, Windstream has zero interest in going beyond what they are now. An old fashioned Tip And Ring system. Their DSL is the equivalent of two dixie cups and and a piece of string. 6mbps is all they will ever do. I can walk for 5 minutes and be in an AT&T served area.
 
I'm skeptical that this deal is in consumers’ best interest,” the Minnesota Democrat said in a statement. “We're witnessing a major transformation of the telecom industry — and it's going in exactly the wrong direction. We're moving toward an industry with fewer competitors — where corporations are getting bigger and bigger and gaining more and more control over the distribution of information.”

thewrap.com
Is he referring to the telecom industry or the airline industry?
 
How the NFL Could Spoil AT&T's $48.5B Acquisition of DirecTV

"Everyone should be rethinking the importance of these sports rights, not to mention how acquiring Sunday Ticket rights could derail the AT&T-DirecTV transaction," Greenfield told clients after the conference call. He said Dish Network, among others, has incentive to snag those rights not only to "disrupt" the planned merger but also because Dish chairman Charlie Ergen "has been quite vocal about launching an over-the-top broadband service later this year that could be aided by Sunday Ticket rights."

hollywoodreporter.com
 
Status
Please reply by conversation.

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Total: 0, Members: 0, Guests: 0)

Who Read This Thread (Total Members: 1)

Latest posts