DIRECTV Buys Dish & Sling TV For $1

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

DIRECTV announced this morning that it has agreed to buy EchoStar’s video assets including Dish’s satellite TV service and its live streaming service, Sling TV. Terms of the deal were not announced as of 7:10 a.m. ET today.

Update: Axios reports that DIRECTV will buy Dish for $1 but will assume Dish’s $20 billion debt. The TV provider will also pay $2.5 billion to refinance Dish’s debt.

“We expect the combined company will be better able to invest in its services and work with programmers to deliver smaller packages at lower price points, providing more choices and better value to consumers. It is expected to also be better positioned to bring together multiple content sources in one easily accessible place. Additionally, the transaction is expected to improve EchoStar’s financial profile as it continues the deployment of its 5G Open RAN wireless network to benefit consumers,” DIRECTV CEO William Morrow said in a statement.

AT&T announced earlier this morning that it was selling its 70 percent stake in DIRECTV to private equity firm, TPG. The sale will give TPG complete ownership of the TV provider. AT&T previously sold a 30 percent stake in DIRECTV to TPG in 2021.

The Dish sale to DIRECTV will have to be approved by federal regulators. Here’s our prediction on whether the sale will be approved.

The DIRECTV-Dish deal will give DIRECTV nearly 20 million subscribers, making it the largest multi-channel, pay TV service in the nation.

The TV Answer Man will provide more details on the Dish sale to DIRECTV when they become available.

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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.