DIRECTV & Dish Close to Merger Deal: Report

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 are close to agreeing to a merger and it could be announced in the coming days, Bloomberg News reports this evening.

The news service writes that the two satellite TV services are in “advanced talks” to close the deal. Bloomberg first reported earlier this month that DIRECTV and Dish had begun discussing a merger of their TV units.

“The companies are still working through details of how the combination might be structured…While talks are advanced, they could still be delayed or falter, the people said,” the article states.

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.

The TV Answer Man predicted here 10 days ago that DIRECTV and Dish would merge this time despite some pessimism among analysts and journalists.

We will update this article if we get more information regarding the possible merger between DIRECTV and Dish.

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.

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.