By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man –Follow me on X.

TV Answer Man, I read somewhere that DIRECTV wanted to buy Netflix at one point. Whatever happened to that? How things would be different!! — Todd, Phoenix.

Todd, it may be hard to believe that DIRECTV was once interested in buying the world’s largest streaming service, Netflix. But according to cable TV legend John Malone, it’s true.

Deadline writes that more than a decade ago when Malone was chairman of Liberty Media, which then had a controlling interest in DIRECTV, he tried to get the satellite TV service to buy Netflix. In fact, he summoned Netflix CEO, and co-founder, Reed Hastings to a Liberty Media board meeting to discuss the possibility.

“I tried when I chaired DIRECTV to acquire Netflix, and that was when (Hastings) was struggling with getting rid of his old mail platform. What I saw was global scale,” Malone said this month during a industry confab.

Apparently the talks never flourished, and Malone’s most prominent memory of the meeting was Hastings saying he didn’t think Netflix would ever produce original content. Of course, the streamer has become one of the industry’s leading producers of original programming.

“He assured us all that he had no intention of producing his own content … to which I responded ‘bull—-,” Malone told the Paley Conference. “It was clear where he was headed. If he didn’t understand (yet), he would,”

Liberty Media later spun off DIRECTV as a separate company, which was sold to AT&T in 2015. AT&T then had numerous issues as DIRECTV’s owner with major subscriber defections and eventually spun off the TV provider again with private equity firm, TPG.

It’s easy to speculate how DIRECTV would have been different if it had purchased Netflix. With a rapidly growing TV venture in the fold such as Netflix, DIRECTV’s shareholders and executive team may have preferred remaining as a standalone company. The AT&T sale may have never happened, and DIRECTV may have been able to leverage Netflix’s growing reach to keep the satellite TV business vibrant.

By the way, DIRECTV was once also interested in purchasing Hulu, but was rebuffed when the streamer’s owners at the time pulled it off the market. Former DIRECTV CEO Mike White often lamented publicly that the Hulu deal never went through.

Todd, hope that helps. Happy viewing and stay safe!

Have a question about new TV technologies? Send it to The TV Answer Man at swann@tvanswerman.com Please include your first name and hometown in your message.

The TV Answer Man is veteran journalist Phillip Swann who has covered the TV technology scene for more than three decades. He will report on the latest news and answer your questions regarding new devices and services that are changing the way you watch television. See the bio for Phillip Swann here.