• by Wayne Friedman , September 27, 2024

DirecTV and Dish Network are in “advanced talks” to merge their two satellite/internet pay TV operations, according to Bloomberg News --  a deal which would create the largest U.S. pay TV provider with almost 20 million subscribers.

If the deal goes through, the new combined company would replace Comcast Corp. as the largest U.S. pay TV distributor. As of the second quarter this year, Comcast has 13.2 million subscribers.

The report says a combined DirecTV-Dish Network would see major equity owners remaining in the new combined company. 

In February 2021, AT&T sold a minority 30% interest in DirecTV for $16 billion to private-equity firm TPG. Earlier this year, Echostar Corp. completed a $26 billion merger for Dish Network.

Representatives for DirecTV and Dish did not respond to Television News Daily inquiries by press time.

The two satellite/internet pay TV distributors have held proposed merger talks -- on and off -- for at least two decades. Early on, the U.S. Department of Justice blocked a merger deal due to antitrust concerns.

In more recent years, Chairman of EchoStar and Dish Network Charlie Ergen said that a merger of DirecTV and Dish was "inevitable," with the belief that a combination was the only way to save the companies amid a slow declining U.S. satellite TV video business.

Both are less powerful operations in a legacy pay TV business in an overall decline, according to analysts. 

This comes as massive cord-cutting has moved subscribers subscribers away from linear TV networks and legacy pay TV distributors of all types -- cable, satellite, telco and some virtual operations --  to fast-growing premium streaming on-demand video business and other digital media platforms.

Currently, DirecTV has an estimated 11 million total satellite/internet subscribers and Dish Network has about 8 million subscribers. Three years ago, DirecTV had 16 million subscribers and Dish had 11 million.