The communications giant AT&T has agreed in principle to terms with the federal government on a $48.5 Billion dollar purchase of DirecTV. According to the NY Post, agreeing means that AT&T has complied with merger requests from the Department of Justice, and worked that plan out over the last two quarters. 

The move most directly affects DirecTV’s 20 million satellite-TV customers and the 5.7 U-Verse TV service subscribers which currently occupy 22 states nationwide. However, naturally, a merger of that size with that deep of ramifications in the entire communication and internet industries will garner a lot of attention from all sorts of groups across the country, and even the globe.

The Post wrote, Senator Al Franken (D-Mn.) in July wrote in a letter to the DOJ, “I urge you to carefully scrutinize AT&T’s proposed acquisition of DirecTV to determine whether the deal is in consumers’ best interests.”

“If AT&T is permitted to acquire DirecTV, the combined entity will have enhanced power in virtually every corner of the telecommunications market—power that AT&T potentially could use to obtain an unfair advantage over consumers and competitors. As such, I have some concerns about this deal.”

Being able to work out a deal with the regulators is a good sign for Comcast so that it will know what conditions it will face for its proposed merger with Time Warner Cable, the source said.

The combined subscription base of 26 million customers would be second only to Comcast and TWC’s, which would boast 30 million combined.

Categories: DISH & TV news