DIRECTV & Dish In Merger Talks (Again): Reports

By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man –Follow me on X.
Former editor of Satellite DIRECT magazine. Reported on DIRECTV for 30 years.

DIRECTV and Dish have again begun discussing a merger of their TV units, according to reports by Bloomberg and Reuters.

The two companies have frequently flirted with combining their efforts in the last several years with Dish Chairman Charlie Ergen even publicly saying a merger is “inevitable.” But DIRECTV and Dish were never able to reach an agreement for a variety of reasons including fears a merger would not be approved by federal regulators.

That fear would likely still exist with a merger now but the declining subscription numbers of both companies (roughly 20 million video subscribers lost combined in the last 10 years) might persuade the feds to approve it. DIRECTV and Dish are likely to lose even more subscribers in the coming years due to cord-cutting and other factors.

If the companies merged today, they would have nearly 20 million video subscribers combined. But minus the merger, one or both companies could fail sooner than later. Analysts have speculated that Dish might have to declare bankruptcy soon due to ongoing financial issues.

DIRECTV and Dish actually did merge more than two decades ago but the deal was nixed in 2002 by federal regulators on grounds that it would be anti-competitive.

Reuters writes that DIRECTV had no comment on the new reports while Dish did not respond to inquiries.

Meanwhile, DIRECTV’s carriage dispute with Disney today enters 13th full day with the satcaster’s subscribers without the entire suite of Disney channels, including ESPN.

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.

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