Another big media merger could be on the horizon.
Satellite TV providers DirecTV (T, TPG) and Dish Network (SATS) are reportedly in advanced merger talks, according to the Wall Street Journal. The deal, if finalized, would create one of the nation’s largest pay-TV providers. It’s unclear which company would be the buyer or the value of the deal.
This isn’t the first time the two companies have discussed a possible combination.
In 2002, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) blocked a proposal to merge the two entities, citing antitrust concerns. But it’s a much different environment this time around as subscriber losses have accelerated and more consumers cut the cord in favor of less expensive streaming services.
“It’s hard to imagine that regulators would block a deal,” MoffettNathanson analyst Craig Moffett wrote in an email to clients. “But synergies would likely be much more limited than you might imagine.”
Moffett referred to the companies’ vastly different satellite portfolios, which he argued would not be “remotely worthwhile” to reconfigure in order for them to match.
“The biggest synergy would once have been to eliminate churn associated with customers moving back and forth between the two companies,” he said. “But today they each capture so few gross additions that cutting them, potentially even in half, wouldn’t amount to much.”
DirecTV and Dish did not immediately respond to Yahoo Finance’s request for comment on the Wall Street Journal report.
Shares in EchoStar, which owns Dish Network, jumped about 10% higher on Friday after the acquisition rumors intensified. The deal, which would also include Dish’s streaming brand Sling TV, could help aid EchoStar’s heavy debt load, the Journal noted.
Meanwhile, a deal would also help cut costs for the owners of DirecTV. AT&T spun off DirecTV in 2021, moving it into a joint venture with private equity investor TPG. At the time, it was valued at about $16 billion with the telecom giant taking a $15.5 billion impairment charge in 2020 to account for subscriber losses.
DirecTV was dealt yet another blow after it lost its coveted Sunday Ticket package to Alphabet’s YouTube TV (GOOGL, GOOG) in late 2022.
Amid those struggles, AT&T revealed on Monday that it would sell its entire 70% stake to TPG for $7.6 billion in a move that allows the telecom operator to fully exit the TV business. The company previously had agreed to hold onto its stake in DirecTV for a three-year period, which expired on July 31.
The transaction, which the company said allows it to strengthen its balance sheet and focus on wireless 5G and fiber connectivity, is expected to close in the second half of next year.
“It’s hard to argue that a merger [between DirecTV and Dish] shouldn’t happen; it clearly should. Consolidation during a period of secular decline is always to be expected,” Moffett said in his note. “But it would be a mistake to overestimate its importance. Adding a year or so to the expected life of satellite TV isn’t going to change the narrative for programmers, distributors, or even for satellite TV.”
Alexandra is a Senior Reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on X @alliecanal8193 and email her at [email protected]
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