Making television easy again. By Phillip Swann
News Analysis Last week’s Fox Business report that “bankers” are saying AT&T needs to sell DIRECTV because it’s an ‘underperforming asset’ certainly rings true. Since AT&T purchased DIRECTV in 2015 for $49 billion, the nation’s top satellite TV service has lost roughly five million subscribers. Making matters worse, the customer defections are dramatically increasing with
Q. I read your article today about AT&T selling DIRECTV to Dish. Why would Dish want DIRECTV now? Aren’t they losing subscribers, too? What’s the point of buying a satellite TV service in a pandemic, particularly when the business is dying. I don’t get it. And wouldn’t the federal government block the deal anyway? —
Bankers say AT&T needs to sell DIRECTV due to the Coronavirus outbreak and accumulating company debt, according to a Fox Business report. The report does not name the bankers, nor say how many are offering this opinion. It also does not say if the bankers are communicating this position with AT&T, or if AT&T is
Q. I read on the Twitter that DIRECTV dropped the OANN channel, the One America News Network. And I couldn’t find it my lineup. What the hell is this? Is it because AT&T hates the president? I know that’s it!!! — Bonnie, East Lansing, Michigan. Bonnie, you are not alone in your frustration. Social media
DIRECTV is offering new subscribers a free year of HBO, and access to HBO Max, AT&T’s new streaming service which debuts May 27. The free HBO offer has been in place for a few weeks, but the satcaster has sweetened the pot by including HBO Max as well. (Note: The offer is for the Choice
Q. Can you explain something to me? Why did AT&T abandon DIRECTV after paying all that money for it? It makes no sense to me. Why buy it if they are not going to run the business the right way? It seems like all they care about is streaming and they don’t care anything about
Q. I’ve had DIRECTV for a long time and I remember when AT&T took it over that they made a bunch of promises. Curious if they actually kept those promises. Can you look them up and see? — Teresa, Dunkirk, Maryland. Teresa, you have a great memory. On July 24, 2015, the day AT&T completed
Q. I read that DIRECTV’s program packages start at $49 a month. That’s not a bad price, but my question is whether the package includes the free Sunday Ticket package that they’ve been giving away. If it does, I’m going to do it. — Cleve, Biloxi, Mississippi. Cleve, DIRECTV’s programming packages do start at $49.99
Q. I’ve been reading that there will be refunds for our sports channel fees because there’s no sports on now with the Coronavirus. What is the status of that? When will we get our refunds? — Mark, Evanston, Illinois. Mark, the answer is probably never. Let me explain. National sports channels, such as ESPN and
Q. I just got a message from DIRECTV saying I will no longer get out-of-market network channels on June 1. What the Hell?! Is this AT&T’s doing again? What’s going on with this? — Ivan, Leonardtown, Maryland. DIRECTV, which is owned by AT&T, is now notifying some customers that they could lose their network TV
Q. I lost my job due to the Covid virus and we have DIRECTV. We are trying to tighten our finances in the next few months in case I can’t go back to work soon. Is there a way to suspend my DIRECTV account until I go back to work? We want to keep DIRECTV,
Q. I read your story last week about DIRECTV losing subs again. Do you think it’s because of the Coronavirus? Everyone’s business, including mine, is taking a big hit because of the virus, right? — Hugh, Jacksonville, Florida. Hugh, AT&T last week reported that DIRECTV and U-verse combined for a net loss of 897,000 subscribers