Q. I’ve been a subscriber of DIRECTV for over 10 years and I read that AT&T is changing its name to AT&T TV or something like that. It’s just a name, but it bugs me because I absolutely hate AT&T. Is it true that DIRECTV won’t be DIRECTV anymore? — Cleve, Sarasota, Florida. 

Cleve, I feel your pain. Since AT&T purchased DIRECTV four years ago, the satcaster has lost roughly two million subscribers, and many tell me in e-mails and other communications that it’s because of AT&T. They say the company’s customer service has dramatically declined, and that AT&T doesn’t seem to understand why people subscribe to a TV service in the first place.

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Now, to your question, AT&T has publicly flirted with the idea of changing the DIRECTV brand name to AT&T for a few years. And recently, the telco announced that it’s changing the name of its live streaming service, DIRECTV Now, to AT&T TV Now. The switch is expected in the coming weeks.

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But what about DIRECTV, the satellite service? Will it also be renamed to AT&T?

It’s quite possible. In fact, DIRECTV’s Twitter customer service account yesterday hinted that a name change could be coming soon.

“We’re moving soon!” the @DIRECTVService account tweeted. “We’ll update you with a new support account when the time comes.”

There would seem to be little reason why @DIRECTVService would need a new Twitter handle unless a name change was in the offering. But we’ll see, and if there’s a name change, we’ll report back here.

Update on August 16: @DirectvService has been changed to @attcares – no word on whether this portends a name change for the entire service.

Until then….

Happy Viewing!

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— Phillip Swann