AT&T To Buy DIRECTV for $67 Billion

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Maybe this will help them more on the TV side of things due to I would take Direct TV any day over U verse TV their internet is fine but the TV side of things are not that great. But this makes since due to they already work together in offering their services together so not surprised..
 
I have not read this whole thread so I don't know if this has been mentioned.

I can't help but wonder if this idea has crossed the mind of ATT executives.

This merger could make UVerse TV deployment a whole lot easier by making VRAD's with a built in DirecTV receiving station to serve a neighborhood instead of having to fiber feed the TV content to the VRAD. Internet is a different story, but by not needing to waste trunk line (VRAD to switch) bandwidth on TV channels it may be easier to get away with feeding the VRAD's internet connection with existing bonded copper pairs instead of having to run new fiber.

EDIT: Just heard on my local news something about "moving streaming to the DirecTV side to save AT&T a whole lot of bandwidth" sounds like they're already thinking something like I'm thinking.



I think that's going to end up happening. Las Vegas for example is a huge massive city, it would take forever to upgrade the whole city. It was Sprint or someone that layed down the original Copper wire in the city, they screwed up and also used proprietary setup, and really killed future expansion. Only new houses and neighborhoods being built are currently getting fiber. I don't know if it was Cox or Google, but was reading the other year about a Receiving station to serve neighborhoods like you mention.

I wold not be surprised if we see something similar like SiriusXM receivers, how the unit picks up land and air satellite range signals. Nokia is behind future 5G and 100G network technology, stuff is going to get real advanced down the road.
 
I also recall AT&T pushing for providers to pay them to allow usage on their mobile network that comes "toll-free" (doesn't count against your cap). Will they be able to get away with streaming their DirecTV content and not allowing Comcast/Dish ?
 
This is ultimately a net reduction of competition for pay TV service in all AT&T U-Verse areas. The Comcast/TWC deal does not actually reduce the number of independently owned providers for anyone in particular AFAIK.

http://www.khou.com/news/texas-news/259728581.html

The combination would reduce consumers’ options for pay TV providers from four to three for about 25 percent of U.S. households, according to Morgan Stanley analyst Ben Swinburne.

One example of such a market is Houston. We have no cable overbuilders to speak of. I was an early U-Verse customer back in 2007. Yeah, the damn thing was buggy, and the technology was inferior when compared to FIOS, but I had to give them a ton of credit. This was AT&T and they were the the disruptive provider

It was comparable, to AT&T also taking on the iPhone at the same time. Both the iPhone, and U-Verse were forward looking in 2006/2007. U-Verse could be said to be forward looking, if you consider that it at least set their network up for higher broadband speeds even as pay TV begins it's inevitable decline.

The acquisition of DirecTV seems like a complete 180 degree turn when compared to 2006.

It doesn't even make sense. We will not consume TV in the same way 5 or 10 years from now, it just can't be sustained. Charlie trying to get into the wireless and data businesses, at least demonstrates competence.
 
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I'm looking forward to seeing if I can get a good buncle package for my phone and perhaps a faster DSL/ internet system. I have verizon now, and I don't beleive any chance in ... to getting FIOS around here. The faster internet for $10.00 more was a joke. It will be interesting to see what packages they offer.
 
True, it is DSL from the neighborhood box that is connected to the plant via fiber. But it also represents a lot of work to make sure the box is close enough to the home to provide a decent speed. DSL (6mbit max from AT&T) represents the minimum investment from AT&T.

Uverse is the same as FiOS until the last copper mile..



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I am just finding out about this. This is another big scummy corporation that doesn't need to get bigger. With AT&T a person has no consumer rights, I also hate to think of how much more at&t can enhance the crooked way the satellite contracts are made up.
 
I have done a number of radio interviews about this today and I got to admit it...

What good does this do for AT&T?
What good does it do for DIRECTV?
and most importantly what good does it do for Consumers?

Sure AT&T will see a $400 million savings per year in programming costs for its UVERSE service. But that is less then 1% of the $67 Billion its costing AT&T (including assuming DIRECTV's debts.)

On the DIRECTV side of things, I think DIRECTV executives will see nice pay days.

But what about the consumers?? You can't say consumers will get bundles on DIRECTV and phone service as they already offer that in areas where AT&T is the local telephone company.

To me this is just a case of the big getting bigger.

If someone from AT&T or DIRECTV would like to come on Satellite Nation and tell us why this deal is a good thing we would love to have them! Just contact me and we will get you scheduled.
 
I was watching the Texas governor on Fox News just now talking about the tax incentives his state is offering to lure businesses away from states like California & I suddenly realized that there would be no way that Texas based ATT will let Directv stay in California. The techs might not like it,but how much would Directv' s bottom line go up just by moving to a more tax friendly Texas?
 
Their " freeze " ends in three years. Then the changes start. It will be juat great with 3 big businesses controlling the majority of content (what you see, hear, and use to form opinions) and/or delivery systems and pricing.

The group will be small enough to meet at starbucks to figure out their secret colluding signals.

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I have done a number of radio interviews about this today and I got to admit it...

What good does this do for AT&T?
What good does it do for DIRECTV?
and most importantly what good does it do for Consumers?

Sure AT&T will see a $400 million savings per year in programming costs for its UVERSE service. But that is less then 1% of the $67 Billion its costing AT&T (including assuming DIRECTV's debts.)

On the DIRECTV side of things, I think DIRECTV executives will see nice pay days.

But what about the consumers?? You can't say consumers will get bundles on DIRECTV and phone service as they already offer that in areas where AT&T is the local telephone company.

To me this is just a case of the big getting bigger.

If someone from AT&T or DIRECTV would like to come on Satellite Nation and tell us why this deal is a good thing we would love to have them! Just contact me and we will get you scheduled.

I applaud you for that post Scott.Excellent questions.
 
It will now depend on the govt. to approve or not this buy-out. If it goes through, say goodbye to the customer service and programming you had enjoyed over the years with DirecTv.
 
It is so odd to me that 20 or 30 years ago , the government broke up the Big ATT corporation into small independent baby bells, because of the anti-trust monopolies laws on the books going back the 19 th century. So they could ensure competition and competitive pricing for consumers. Now all we have is consolidation of providers and most of the baby bells are back under ATT again. So what does that ensure for the consumer? Lack of choices and even higher prices for everyone. At the rate they are going we should just go ahead and let the corporations take over congress ............ Oh wait , I think that has already happened. The congressmen are in the pockets of any corporation and their special interests, as long as they keep the money flowing into their political campaigns. Thus all these "mergers" are being allowed to happen left and right and the next thing is the end of net neutrality, already in the works, and even higher prices for all for internet . The future looks bleak in my opinion.
 
It will now depend on the govt. to approve or not this buy-out. If it goes through, say goodbye to the customer service and programming you had enjoyed over the years with DirecTv.
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.
 
There is some good money to be made on the sidelines with this maneuver. Been following the T stock all morning. DTV has fallen $10 below T offering price in fear that it won't get regulatory approval. There is a report that T will not have to pay DTV any penalty if the deal falls through. Not like the Dish penalty. The actual deal is said to not close until about a year from now.

Also, my opinion is there is never a guarantee that programming will remain the same in the future. It never does regardless of these M&A deals nor any promises made by the purchasing company. The future is always in play. And with new people running the show, change is more likely than not.
 
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