AT&T's Donovon says that they have a list of potential customers who have requested DirecTV satellite service but then couldn't get it for one reason or another, such an an inability to mount a dish where they live or because a dish at their home couldn't achieve line-of-sight to the sats. Those leads will be among the first folks that they reach out to when trying to sell AT&T TV.
AT&T Should sell DIRECTV to DISH
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AT&T's Donovon says that they have a list of potential customers who have requested DirecTV satellite service but then couldn't get it for one reason or another, such an an inability to mount a dish where they live or because a dish at their home couldn't achieve line-of-sight to the sats. Those leads will be among the first folks that they reach out to when trying to sell AT&T TV.
Sorry I forgot add the tech saying not being able to get off the ladder to replace the current LNB with a 4k LNB or if the LNB went bad. I don’t think customers will want two dishes on their roof.
New study says AT&T needs to kill DTV to save it. If you want that report Multichannel posts it will cost you $195.
https://www.multichannel.com/blog/at-t-needs-to-kill-directv-to-save-it
Ha, my mom didn't want even ONE dish on their roof, considering it an eyesore. But she relented as DISH was able to mount it on the back side of the house, out of view from the street side. If I get them switched over to AT&T TV, I think I'll take down their dish (did the same with two on my house some years back) and may try sticking one of my OTA antennas on their dish mount. The coax from the dish running to both TVs will make it easy to get the OTA signal where it needs to go. (AT&T already has streaming agreements in place with all of their major locals except for PBS, plus the SD diginets like Me-TV, which they like.)
You saying directv no longer service?? I thought directv will merging with dish?? If it’s then I will go back cable again and I’m still waiting for hbo and Cinemax come back again if it’s not come back I had no choice go back cable again
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Nothing is really set in stone it’s all just analyst’s views right now. No talks are going on between two right now.
I think people are SERIOUSLY jumping the gun here ....
There is a rumor that D* may sell to DISH or I've also heard that DISH will be merged with D* ...
Al sorts of speculation going around ...
I think someone just was thinking about what might happen and the media took off with it ..
Currently NEITHER side is doing any negotiating regarding this.
There is a rumor that D* may sell to DISH or I've also heard that DISH will be merged with D* ...
Al sorts of speculation going around ...
I think someone just was thinking about what might happen and the media took off with it ..
Currently NEITHER side is doing any negotiating regarding this.
Yep, people are talking as if D* and E* were actually doing anything to combine to one company. While I suppose there could be some 'back door' communication going on between them, indications are that it is not in any way what's happening. All started by a financial news 'what if' story by an analyst I think. I suppose that since it is a scenario that makes some sense as subscriptions to cable/sat are dropping.
Seems like Charlie is too focused on trying to to buy Boost Mobile as part of the Sprint-T-Mobile merger to worry about AT&T's DirecTV problems at the moment.
Yeah, I'd agree that both companies have much bigger fish to fry at the moment. DISH is trying to sort out their 5G future and possible related acquisitions while AT&T is on the cusp of major changes in their video product line-up and marketing strategy. But I do think that in a few months, we may see either or both sides get serious about a DTV+DISH tie-up.
Whether or not that happens might have a lot to do with how things pan out first with the T-Mobile/Sprint deal. I see DISH's situation like this: they're stuck running a shrinking (but profitable) business that uses last-gen technology (DBS) selling a fading product (cable TV bundles). But they also hold a bunch of valuable wireless spectrum licenses that are as yet unused. The FCC clock is ticking; if they don't use them soon, they'll lose them and that would be a massive asset loss for DISH.
DISH has two paths in front of them. One of them is to milk every last dime they can out of their current assets over the coming 7-10 years, wind down operations and call it a day. This path would mean staying the course as a satellite TV company. Rather than take on the risk/debt to build out a hugely costly nationwide 5G network and get into a new line of business they don't really know, DISH would just sell off their wireless spectrum to one or more existing wireless players, such as T-Mobile or AT&T. Get as much out of it as possible. Then make their shrinking satellite TV business as profitable as possible. That probably means at some point acquiring their only direct competitor, DirecTV, and merging it into DISH, in order to achieve greater scale and cost efficiencies and also to neutralize competition. DISH would be a stock you buy or hold onto not for growth prospects but for dividends as it rides into the sunset.
The other path facing DISH is to embark on a new line of business that will serve as DISH's bridge to the future. That would be nationwide 5G wireless broadband. But building a whole new nationwide 5G network is a daunting, risky proposition, estimated to cost $10 billion. And remember that DISH would be the upstart 4th (or 5th?) competitor in that arena, and the last to market with a viable product. But if DISH can and does make that happen, then their default strategy for their satellite TV business would probably be the same as AT&T's, which is to transition their TV customer base over from the DBS delivery system to a streaming internet delivery system on their own IP pipes (i.e. the 5G network). So in this scenario, Sling TV would grow up, evolve and become their flagship TV service while satellite TV slowly sunsets, just as DirecTV Now is about to do the same for AT&T.
Note, however, that AT&T has a major advantage in that they're a huge content owner through WarnerMedia; DISH owns no content, which does not augur well for their future success as a video distributor competing against other streamers who do own content. Remember that the business of reselling other companies' cable channels in bundles is fading. AT&T has their own direct-to-consumer on-demand competitor to Netflix and Hulu in an expanded HBO service to soon launch. DISH cannot play in that arena at all. It's still possible, even probable, that DISH would eventually want to consolidate their satellite TV operations with DirecTV's, although that's a less pressing concern if DISH pursues this 5G path.
Which path will DISH take? If I held a lot of DISH stock (and I don't), I think I would hope they took path #1. It's the less risky, more predictable path. If I want to own a piece of the 5G future, I'll buy into other companies that specialize in that and look better poised for success there. Liquidate all those spectrum licenses; maybe use part to help finance the DirecTV acquisition and pay out the rest to your shareholders.
Keep your eye on what happens with the T-Mo/Sprint deal. If DISH acquires the divested assets (Boost Mobile plus more spectrum licenses) with financial backing from an outside firm as rumored, then it looks like they're definitely casting their lot on path #2.
But if another company -- Charter or Altice or Amazon -- acquires the divested assets to emerge as the new 4th national wireless network operator, I think DISH's hope would be to sell them as much of their spectrum licenses as possible too. Because the new operator will need more spectrum than they get from T-Mo/Sprint to really have a viable network. (While building out all that spectrum, the operator would rely on Boost for wholesale access to New T-Mobile's network.) So in this scenario, DISH takes path #1. Leave the 5G future to others.
If the entire deal falls apart and T-Mo and Sprint do not merge (as DISH has been rooting for all along), then T-Mo is going to be hungry for more assets, including spectrum. DISH will try to sell them some or all of their licenses. They might also sell (or trade) some to AT&T, possibly as part of a deal to acquire DirecTV. Perhaps Verizon would buy a bit of it. Again, the gameplan here is path #1.
That's how I see it anyhow. Thoughts?
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Or Charlie Ergen may have another ace up his sleeve.
BTW, why would T-Mobile and Sprint merge if they had to create a competitor and lose assets that are a big part of the reason to merge in the first place?
I see DoJ and the states opposing it simply to benefit ATT and Verizon. Now, why would they do that? :whistlinginthedark
It is flat out obvious that Sprint ceases operations in a few months if the merger fails. That leaves two big players and one small one, rather than three big players. SoftBank CANNOT pour more money into Sprint, as it has been reported that their creditors forced them to sign an agreement not to. Too much money thrown down that rat hole.
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BTW, why would T-Mobile and Sprint merge if they had to create a competitor and lose assets that are a big part of the reason to merge in the first place?
I see DoJ and the states opposing it simply to benefit ATT and Verizon. Now, why would they do that? :whistlinginthedark
It is flat out obvious that Sprint ceases operations in a few months if the merger fails. That leaves two big players and one small one, rather than three big players. SoftBank CANNOT pour more money into Sprint, as it has been reported that their creditors forced them to sign an agreement not to. Too much money thrown down that rat hole.
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They're desperate to get this deal done. T-Mobile needs to scale up -- in spectrum and subscribers -- to compete against Verizon and AT&T. Sprint needs this merger just to survive long-term. I don't think shedding their own MVNO, Boost, is a big deal. They were always going to work with outside MVNOs such as Mint Mobile, etc. anyhow. And they'll still have their own cheaper Metro sub-brand if they want to keep it.
Yes, divesting select spectrum is a bit painful for them but they'll do it if necessary. Even after the divestments, the combined New T-Mobile will be far better equipped to take on Verizon and AT&T in the new 5G world. Whatever fourth competitor that emerges would be a fledgling competitor. Instead of 2 bigs and 2 smalls, the new landscape would be 3 bigs and 1 small.
Sprint would have more than a few months left if the merger fails but you're right that their future would be bleak. I think their game plan would have to be to immediately stop any improvements to their network (so no more 5G deployments, no coverage expansion). Just keep what they've got going. Even if the merger fails, they still get free roaming access on the T-Mobile network for the next few years. I imagine that they would stop paying for roaming privileges on Verizon and AT&T for voice and data, respectively, and just rely on T-Mo roaming (although that would likely require Sprint finishing up their VoLTE rollout that they've just begun). That would shrink their coverage footprint, especially on current Sprint phones that can't access T-Mo's long-range bands 66 and 71.
They might try to sell off all of that 2.5 GHz spectrum that they've yet to deploy for 5G since they can't afford to build it out anyhow. (T-Mo clearly wants it.) Rather than trying to pretend to be a nationwide wireless network competing directly with Verizon, AT&T and T-Mo, I think Sprint would have to convert into being a prepaid 3G/4G-only provider with lower prices than the big 3. They might even abandon some regions entirely in order to concentrate their limited resources on having a better network only in certain areas/metros. Maybe they could cooperate with or even merge with existing regional players like US Cellular and C-Spire. Not sure how long such a Sprint could survive but, without a white knight swooping in to save them, I don't see any other future for them.
From Howard Forums and elsewhere, Sprint really is well into a death spiral. It seems they can’t roll out VoLTE now- no money. Custies are leaving as their free service ends. Few new ones take their place.
And it would be hard to imagine T-Mobile continuing the process without that 2.5GHz. That is a MAJOR asset.
This merger really isn’t about Sprint’s survival. It’s about T-Mo getting some spectrum and assets and saving some jobs. Inside a couple of years, tops, the switch over will be complete and there will be no more mention of Sprint, just the new T-Mobile.
3G and 4G also are heading for oblivion, but obviously still have quite a few years left.
There is no survival strategy for Sprint. Smaller players have nothing to gain by dancing with a corpse. Sprint becoming a regional player, with obsolete technology, staves off the inevitable.
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And it would be hard to imagine T-Mobile continuing the process without that 2.5GHz. That is a MAJOR asset.
This merger really isn’t about Sprint’s survival. It’s about T-Mo getting some spectrum and assets and saving some jobs. Inside a couple of years, tops, the switch over will be complete and there will be no more mention of Sprint, just the new T-Mobile.
3G and 4G also are heading for oblivion, but obviously still have quite a few years left.
There is no survival strategy for Sprint. Smaller players have nothing to gain by dancing with a corpse. Sprint becoming a regional player, with obsolete technology, staves off the inevitable.
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There isn't even a RUMOR. There was one analyst who suggested it would make sense - who works for an investment bank which makes it money off huge fees for huge M&A deals so he's not exactly a disinterested party.
The claim was made that Ergen would be "open" to a deal but acknowleged that the Dish CEO and AT&T CEO have never spoken about this. It is much ado about nothing.
If someone comes up with credible evidence they've been speaking about a potential deal, then it is worth discussing, but this isn't even a rumor. It is a story made up by an analyst hoping to drum up business for his investment bank.
Sorry 4g will be around a very long time but 3g is gonr
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Given how long it took them to deploy LTE, and VoLTE in particular, I tend to agree.
Yep. There isn't much of a case to upgrade an existing LTE cell to 5G. You don't get better bandwidth (same bits per Hz for each) the only improvement is less latency. You'll see remaining 2G and 3G upgraded to LTE, and lots of new spectrum for 5G, but I doubt you'll see much in the way of LTE->5G upgrades. It won't make economic sense for the carrier.
How are the smaller regional players any less corpses than Sprint? I don't think the situation is good for any of them, really, but I think there is a play for carriers who seek to offer a cheaper, more modest service focused on a subset of the market. I've not looked at Sprint's financials enough to know whether such a strategy would work for them but I've seen comments from their CEO (or one of their chieftains) suggesting that such would be their gameplan if the merger falls through.
Their game plan would be to take whatever path keeps their paychecks coming as long as possible.
All the little guys last as long as it’s in the interest of the big guys.
On reflection, yes about 4G sticking around. Especially since it can coexist with 5G. 5G will be more of a Marketing pitch than a functional cell phone improvement.
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All the little guys last as long as it’s in the interest of the big guys.
On reflection, yes about 4G sticking around. Especially since it can coexist with 5G. 5G will be more of a Marketing pitch than a functional cell phone improvement.
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