http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/ATT-UVerse-TV-Customers-Pay-17-More-Than-DirecTV-Users-135648
One of the big selling points of AT&T's DirecTV acquisition was that the satellite provider's large size (100 million homes vs. 30 million for U-verse) would give AT&T better leverage in negotiating programming rates. Recent statements by AT&T CFO John Stephens give a good idea how big that gap is, Stephens noting that AT&T U-Verse TV customers pay, on average, $17 more a month for the same programming as DirecTV customers.
While AT&T insists the deal provides it with "$2.5 billion in synergistic savings," there's little indication it would pass on any of these savings to the end consumer. Especially given there's one less competitor in the market for AT&T to worry about.
Stephens seemed to indicate that AT&T expected many U-Verse TV customers to switch over to DirecTV for television service, but keep AT&T U-Verse for broadband, potentially freeing up bandwidth for faster speeds.
"As [U-verse] customers shift to our DirecTV platform, we have an opportunity to capture savings, as well," he said.
One of the big selling points of AT&T's DirecTV acquisition was that the satellite provider's large size (100 million homes vs. 30 million for U-verse) would give AT&T better leverage in negotiating programming rates. Recent statements by AT&T CFO John Stephens give a good idea how big that gap is, Stephens noting that AT&T U-Verse TV customers pay, on average, $17 more a month for the same programming as DirecTV customers.
While AT&T insists the deal provides it with "$2.5 billion in synergistic savings," there's little indication it would pass on any of these savings to the end consumer. Especially given there's one less competitor in the market for AT&T to worry about.
Stephens seemed to indicate that AT&T expected many U-Verse TV customers to switch over to DirecTV for television service, but keep AT&T U-Verse for broadband, potentially freeing up bandwidth for faster speeds.
"As [U-verse] customers shift to our DirecTV platform, we have an opportunity to capture savings, as well," he said.
