AT&T is exploring the prospects of buying the satellite TV provider DirecTV in a deal that could be worth $40 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The WSJ cites a source familiar with the situation who says that DirecTV is "open" to the possibility of deal, though it is unclear whether talks are under way.
MikeP688, User Rank: Light Sabre 5/4/2014 | 9:57:28 AM
Re: Competitive concerns Many thanks for your thoughts. As I reflected upon this, I found this to be o curious read to get a sense of what is perceived with the Cable TV industry itself:
But, beyond this latest "status" on the industry itself, there is the power that will be exerted by the distributors...as exemplified by what happened w/the Weather Channel:
kq4ym, User Rank: Light Sabre 5/4/2014 | 9:00:39 AM
Re: Competitive concerns I not long ago elected to dump DirecTv after making the decision that I just wasn't getting my money's worth for the amount of cable tv I digested. Plus, the ever increasing subscription fees didn't convince me to hang on to what had been a decades long relationship.
AT&T would surely be after the huge subscription list to add to it's customer base as well as the opportunities to enter a new business profit area. But, lots of scrutiny would surely come along with that move.
MikeP688, User Rank: Light Sabre 5/3/2014 | 7:57:47 AM
Re: What say you? It is truly an intriguing prospect--yet we have players, though, getting into the content side of it too--as exemplified already by Comcast controlling NBC. We the ordinary folks seem not to matter--which is exactly to your point the kind of 2nd hand programmning we've been subjected to. We do live in very very interesting times. :-)
MikeP688, User Rank: Light Sabre 5/3/2014 | 7:53:06 AM
Re: What say you? It will "intriguing" if Dish is able to eat up DirectTV--but I doubt it at this stage right now. With all the changes right now, who knows. Anything is possible. The only fear I have, though, is that the we the average consumer will be left in the dust of it all.
jabailo, User Rank: Light Sabre 5/2/2014 | 1:43:10 PM
Re: Competitive concerns I can get DirecTV as part of a package deal with fiber from my local phone company, CenturyLink...so it's already positioning itself for delivery over high capacity broadband (and 5G).
mendyk, User Rank: Light Sabre 5/2/2014 | 10:05:57 AM
Re: What say you? MikeP -- To your point (sort of), what's intriguing here is the idea that consolidation among video service providers could pressure content conglomerates to lower their fees for distribution rights. I doubt this would benefit customers in a meaningful way, but it would at least put the brakes on the likes of ESPN/Disney, which is now very comfortable soaking video service providers while delivering increasingly second-rate programming.
MikeP688, User Rank: Light Sabre 5/2/2014 | 9:47:09 AM
Re: What say you? For sure, there is never a dull moment in our ever changing World. I chatted w/one of my students who actually works for DirectTV and he was as intrigued as the rest of us. There is a sense of Scale for sure. But, DirectTV and AT&T have had a solid partnership for quite some time--can it be that they will get them out and transition them all to UVERSE?
KBode, User Rank: Light Sabre 5/2/2014 | 8:50:42 AM
Re: What say you? I just don't think regulators would be keen on eliminating one of the major video competitors, but it's not clear where Wheeler would stand. After all, he's stated he would have approved AT&T's takeover of T-Mobile.
Companies must be getting a good read on a likely approval for Comcast Time Warner Cable, as they seem happy to try and push for deals you wouldn't think would normally get approved (Sprint T-Mobile). "Hell, you approved that deal, why not ours?"
Light Reading’s Upskill U is a FREE, interactive, online educational resource that delivers must-have education on themes that relate to the overall business transformation taking place in the communications industry.
NEXT COURSE
Wednesday, September 28, 1:00PM EDT Gigabit 101 Will Barkis, Senior Technology Analyst, Orange
UPCOMING COURSE SCHEDULE
Friday, September 30, 1:00PM EDT Gigabit & the Great Migration Robert Howald, Vice President, Network Architecture, Comcast
Wednesday, October 5, 1:00PM EDT Gigabit & Smart Cities Joe Kochan, COO & Co-Founder, US Ignite
Friday, October 7, 1:00PM EDT Gigabit & DOCSIS 3.1 Ty Pearman, Director, Access Architecture, Comcast
Six different communications service providers join to debate their visions of the future CSP, following a landmark presentation from AT&T on its massive virtualization efforts and a look back on where the telecom industry has been and where it's going from two industry veterans.
Service providers can't compete with OTT players. It just isn't in their DNA. Instead, service providers need to embrace what they're good at -- providing reliable, secure connectivity.
Nick Thomas, practice leader of digital media at Ovum, talks about how digital transformation in the technology, media and telecom sectors will enable the development of a new range of applications and services for enterprises and consumers and how the upcoming Digital Futures event in London will examine ...
One of the main challenges for network operators introducing NFV is to combine performance and flexibility in a cost-effective way, but there is a solution, explains Napatech's Dan Joe Barry.
Light Reading CEO Steve Saunders and UXP Systems CEO Gemini Waghmare discuss the strategic importance of digital identity for operators in the midst of transformation.
F5's Kishore Patnam, product manager for F5's service provider solutions, discusses why service providers are moving towards virtualization and how his clients are utilizing F5's solutions.
Join us for an in-depth interview between Steve Saunders of Light Reading and Alexis Black Bjorlin of Intel as they discuss the release of the company's Silicon Photonics platform, its performance, long-term prospects, customer expectations and much more.
Light Reading's Steve Saunders gets an update from Nominum CEO Gary Messiana on how his company is helping carriers on the digital transformation journey.
Heavy Reading Senior Analyst Jim Hodges speaks with Accenture's Larry Socher and Matt Anderson about what service providers must do to transform their business to get the benefits of SDN and NFV including: leveraging DevOps, introducing real-time OSS and implementing analytics.
One of the main challenges for network operators introducing NFV is to combine performance and flexibility in a cost-effective way, but there is a solution, explains Napatech's Dan Joe Barry.
F5's Kishore Patnam, product manager for F5's service provider solutions, discusses why service providers are moving towards virtualization and how his clients are utilizing F5's solutions.
Heavy Reading Senior Analyst Jim Hodges speaks with Accenture's Larry Socher and Matt Anderson about what service providers must do to transform their business to get the benefits of SDN and NFV including: leveraging DevOps, introducing real-time OSS and implementing analytics.
VeEX's Senior Director of Business Development, Perry Romano, explains how VeEX provides tools to help install, maintain, monitor and manage network infrastructure efficiently and effectively. The portfolio of products on display include the RXT-6000, MTTplus and TX300s.
Light Reading Editor Mitch Wagner talks to NetScout CMO Jim McNiel about maximizing the benefits of enterprise cloud and digital transformation while minimizing potential pitfalls with a proper monitoring and instrumentation strategy.
Many of the initial use case implementations are single-vendor and self-contained. The industry is still climbing the virtualization maturity curve, needing further clarity and stability in the NFV infrastructure (NFVi) and greater availability and choice of virtualized network functions (VNFs). Interoperability between NFVis and VNFs from different vendors ...
Senior Juniper Networks executives talk to Light Reading Founder & CEO Steve Saunders about NFV developments and the recent independent evaluation by test lab EANTC of Juniper's Cloud CPE solution.
At UBBS World Tour 2016, Alla Shabelnikova of Ovum shares the findings of a white paper outlining the challenges and opportunities of broadband rollout in Russia.
Light Reading CEO Steve Saunders and UXP Systems CEO Gemini Waghmare discuss the strategic importance of digital identity for operators in the midst of transformation.
Join us for an in-depth interview between Steve Saunders of Light Reading and Alexis Black Bjorlin of Intel as they discuss the release of the company's Silicon Photonics platform, its performance, long-term prospects, customer expectations and much more.
A vital part of increasing the number of women in comms is transforming the ways companies can support and empower women. While progressive company policies that support both men and women in achieving work-life balance are a step in the right direction, creating a company culture that supports those policies can at times be more challenging.
During this show, we'll talk to Lynn Comp, Senior Director of Industry and Sales Enabling (ISE) in the Network Platforms Group at Intel, about why those challenges exist and how companies can overcome them. She'll provide insight into how Intel has worked to create a culture that supports work-life balance, and provide steps and guidance for other companies wishing to do the same. We will also leave plenty of time to get your questions answered live on the air.
To save this item to your list of favorite Light Reading content so you can find it later in your Profile page, click the "Save It" button next to the item.
If you found this interesting or useful, please use the links to the services below to share it with other readers. You will need a free account with each service to share an item via that service.
(13) | 
Digg
Del.icio.us
Reddit
Tweet This