AT&T Leviathan Gets Bigger – Set To Buy DirecTV for $48.5 Billion

Yes folks, that is right – your TV choices continue to shrink.  In a BuzzFeed report Sunday, AT&T made its intentions clear to purchase satellite TV provider DirecTV for a whopping $48.5 billion.  As of currently, AT&T does offer its own brand of TV service known as “U-Verse”.  U-Verse has a very small footprint right now in limited markets, only covering about 5.7 million people.

AT&T and DirecTV have been working together for quite some time now – offering bundles for Internet, phone, wireless service, with the TV service provided by DirecTV.  The two companies have been in talks for some time, with the rumor mill running full speed, until now.

In a statement AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson claimed that DirecTV “is a great fit” and that it offers “a unique opportunity that will redefine the video entertainment industry and create a company able to offer new bundles and deliver content to consumers across multiple screens – mobile devices, TVs, laptops, cars and even airplanes”.

If this deal is approved, the combined companies will control over 26 million TV subscribers.  This would be in second place to the still in limbo Comcast/Time Warner deal.  Dish Network was in talks to purchase DirecTV, but it found the deal a little too pricey for its budget.