Business
FCC Set to Approve AT&T-DirecTV Deal
(Seth Perlman, Reed Saxon/AP)
(USA Today) – FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said Tuesday he has circulated to his fellow FCC commissioners the agency’s proposed order approving the acquisition, which would create one of the largest U.S. pay-TV providers. AT&T and DirecTV will have to agree to some conditions for the final approval, he said.
In May 2014, AT&T announced its plans to buy DirecTV, a move to expand its television service presence nationally and enhance its buying power vs. TV networks that are demanding higher fees for their programs. Once the merger is complete, AT&T would serve about 26 million TV customers, including about 6 million TV customers who now subscribe to AT&T’s U-Verse service and DirecTV’s 20 million satellite TV service.
“An order recommending that the AT&T/DirecTV transaction be approved with conditions has circulated to the commissioners,” Wheeler said in a statement.
