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AT&T, DirecTV deal moving forward

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AT&T’s $49 billion acquisition of DirecTV is moving through the regulatory process. The plan is to combine AT&T’s broadband and regional TV services with DirecTV’s satellite operation, enhancing AT&T’s broadband and video distribution. So far, the deal has moved through Federal Communications Commission and Department of Justice regulatory processes without serious problems, and it’s expected to be approved.

The smooth progress of the deal stands in contrast to the Comcast-Time Warner merger, whichended last week after facing scrutiny from regulators. A Wall Street Journalreport explains why the AT&T/DirecTV combination raises few if any anti-competitive issues:

The Federal Communications Commission sees the AT&T deal as helping competition and aiding the spread of broadband into rural areas that lack service, people familiar with the matter said.

[…]

To get ahead of regulators, AT&T made several commitments when making the deal last year including expanding its high-speed broadband to 15 million locations, mostly in rural areas, [and] guaranteeing prices for customers seeking only broadband connections.


The Communications Workers of America (CWA) supports the deal because it will benefit consumers and workers. CWA filed its support with the Federal Communications Commission and urged the Commission to approve the transaction: “The proposed AT&T/DIRECTV merger will advance the deployment of high-speed broadband, strengthen competition in the video and broadband markets, and promote collective bargaining and good, career jobs.”

It’s official: The Comcast-Time Warner deal is dead (Speed Matters, Apr. 24, 2015)

Diverging Fortunes for Comcast and AT&T Deals (Wall Street Journal, Apr. 24, 2015)


CWA says AT&T-DIRECTV merger will advance broadband buildout, help consumers, workers (Speed Matters, Sept. 16, 2014)


Comments of Communications Workers of America (FCC filing, Sep. 16, 2014)