Is directv for sale?

[goaliebob99]

According to the Assocated Press, via The Motley fool, that could be reality after spinoff.. here is the article.

Liberty Media CEO says DirecTV sale 'possible'

The chief executive of Liberty Media Corp. said Friday that a sale of DirecTV to a phone company is possible after its planned spin-off.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Greg Maffei said phone companies could have strategic reasons for buying DirecTV Group Inc., the nation's largest satellite TV operator.

Phone companies could be interested in acquiring DirecTV for the ability to offer video nationally along with Internet and phone services to better compete with cable TV operators, which have been luring customers with such "triple play" packages.

Liberty Media, which owns a controlling stake in DirecTV, announced Monday it will merge its entertainment unit with DirecTV and spin that off as a separate company. Afterward, Maffei and Liberty Chairman John Malone are expected to stay on DirecTV's board. Media mogul Malone will have a 24 percent voting control and remain as DirecTV's chairman after the spin-off.

The spin-off will simplify DirecTV's ownership structure and make it easier for another company to buy it. Currently, Liberty owns 54 percent of DirecTV through Liberty Entertainment Group, which trades as a separate tracking stock. DirecTV also is publicly traded.

Read the rest at the URL above.

 

[damjr]

It will be AT&T. Mark my words !!

 

[Juan]

No It won't

 

[Rey]

i would rather it be verizon. really,just want it out of malone's hands!

 

[bgothard72]

May be good news for E*. Buy outs and merges usually mean bad news for a company!

 

[JosephB]

If anyone it will be AT&T. And, I assume this is why Starz wasn't included with the rest of the stuff that was bundled up with DirecTV

 

[lee78221]

May be good news for E*. Buy outs and merges usually mean bad news for a company!

DirecTV has been bought twice(almost 3), still going strong.

 

[Rey]

DirecTV has been bought twice(almost 3), still going strong.

:up:up

 

[damjr]

Just a little inside FYI. Rumor has it AT&T left Dish because they were looking for a purchase opportunity. When Dish told them they were not for sale.....................

boom bada bing.............AT&T cuts a deal with DTV.

 

[tlarseth]

I thought Ecostar was up for sale. CNN reported on it. right now AT&T is bundled with DirecTv for a bundled billing for customers.

Also, I was told the AT&T going DirecTv was due to customer satifaction ratings and cost.

Plus, why would AT&T buy DirecTv, when they are testing a cable based service via phone lines in select markets, and rumor has it that this will eventually replace any satalite bundle they have, once it is brought out of testing phases.

 

[uncrules]

Plus, why would AT&T buy DirecTv, when they are testing a cable based service via phone lines in select markets, and rumor has it that this will eventually replace any satalite bundle they have, once it is brought out of testing phases.

It's going to be quite a while before either U-verse or FiOS is as widespread as satellite TV or cable. So by purchasing D* that would give AT&T a video presence in the many markets where U-verse isn't available. Also keep in mind that since U-verse and FiOS have to get cable franchises agreements from gov'ts like TWC/Comcast etc. have to, cable companies are spending a lot of money lobbying against the expansion of U-verse and FiOS.

 

[sundude90]

I hope that that Verizon doesn't buy it.

 

[Jimbo]

I thought Ecostar was up for sale. CNN reported on it. right now AT&T is bundled with DirecTv for a bundled billing for customers.

Also, I was told the AT&T going DirecTv was due to customer satifaction ratings and cost.

Plus, why would AT&T buy DirecTv, when they are testing a cable based service via phone lines in select markets, and rumor has it that this will eventually replace any satalite bundle they have, once it is brought out of testing phases.

The phone line based product is called U-Verse.
They want D* because at this point U-Verse is not available to everyone in a city, it's related to distance from the office so far until more newer electronics are provided.
This way they can get TV to everyone, D* will fill the gaps where U-Verse wont reach yet.

 

[Jimbo]

Just a little inside FYI. Rumor has it AT&T left Dish because they were looking for a purchase opportunity. When Dish told them they were not for sale.....................

boom bada bing.............AT&T cuts a deal with DTV.

I think AT&T went with D* because they saw a BETTER situation with D* investing money to have new sats ready and already in the sky, they looked more ready for the future than E* did.

D* continues to go forward.

 

[MikeinBaja]

Why sell it outright when you can sell it and still control it?

Perfect timing for a spin-off via an IPO. Just had PR released that they are #1. Folks are staying home (since they can't afford to go anywhere) so TV is king.

Liberty media IPO's the shares - keeps 50.001% for themselves - gets buckets full of cash AND retains controlling interest.

Clean, simple, cost effective and a smart move.

 

[riffjim4069]

This is one area where it many be beneficial for AT&T and Verizon to form a partnership and buy DirecTV.

 

[freezy]

That wont happen. Anti trust laws split AT&T up 20 years ago.

The reason most RBOC (regulated regional bell operating company) want to carry satellite is it cant compete with telephone. Cable can.

(Cable has an unfair advantage in the marketplace. They don't have to provide service if they don't want to. If it's too far out in the sticks and there is no population density they aren't gonna be nice and bring all that out to your shack.

The local phone monopoly is required by law to provide a phone line no matter where you live. Exception. If you section off a huge chunk of land and make a road through that eventually will be public, you as a developer need to pay for that. Or your house is over 700ft from the public right of way, you need to pay for excess construction costs. Once either are in place they are required to maintain them)

Some phone companies call their TV over Phone service "Next Level". It actually is fiber optic fed to a local cabinet in your neighborhood.

Most suburban and rural DSL comes from what is called a Stinger or a DSLAM. These are also remotely mounted in neighborhoods

 

[Claude Greiner]

Just a little inside FYI. Rumor has it AT&T left Dish because they were looking for a purchase opportunity. When Dish told them they were not for sale.....................

boom bada bing.............AT&T cuts a deal with DTV.

Dish was for Sale, Chrlie just didn't want to give up controling intrest of the company and then AT&T called the whole thing off.

 

[Jimbo]

That wont happen. Anti trust laws split AT&T up 20 years ago.

The reason most RBOC (regulated regional bell operating company) want to carry satellite is it cant compete with telephone. Cable can.

(Cable has an unfair advantage in the marketplace. They don't have to provide service if they don't want to. If it's too far out in the sticks and there is no population density they aren't gonna be nice and bring all that out to your shack.

The local phone monopoly is required by law to provide a phone line no matter where you live. Exception. If you section off a huge chunk of land and make a road through that eventually will be public, you as a developer need to pay for that. Or your house is over 700ft from the public right of way, you need to pay for excess construction costs. Once either are in place they are required to maintain them)

Some phone companies call their TV over Phone service "Next Level". It actually is fiber optic fed to a local cabinet in your neighborhood.

Most suburban and rural DSL comes from what is called a Stinger or a DSLAM. These are also remotely mounted in neighborhoods

A Stinger ?
Thats the first time I've heard that terminology for the DPG box

 

[freezy]

DPG=digital pair gain? SLC96?

Stinger Explained:

hxxp://nsi-solutions.com/html/lucent_stinger_dsl_intmod.html

(not sure how you folks are with links)