Slashdot Mirror
FCC Approves AT&T's DirecTV Purchase
An anonymous reader writes: The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has granted approval to AT&T to purchase DirecTV for $48.5 billion. AT&T will become the largest provider of cable or satellite TV in the U.S., with 26.4 million subscribers. "Adding TV customers gives AT&T more power to negotiate with big media companies over prices for those channels. The deal also combines a nationwide satellite TV service, the country's largest, with the No. 2 nationwide wireless network as time spent on mobile devices increases." The FCC did put conditions on the deal: AT&T must make fiber internet service available to 12.5 million people, offer cheaper internet plans to low-income customers, and not mess with the internet traffic of online video competitors.
I just wish it were Ma Bell.
Enough consolidation already. There is nothing left to watch on DirectTV anyway, once Stewart quits in a couple of weeks. Science channel is all ghosts and reality tv, scifi is wrestling and reality tv, discover is completely useless and history isn't even the nazi channel anymore.
We were looking at going with DirectTV to get away from AT&T, because AT&T sucks rotting puss-filled maggot carcases on a good day.
There goes that plan.
Table-ized A.I.
Eek. Wonder how long it'll take them to mangle the service? On the bright side it's one more reason to get away from TV.
Man blir trött av att gå och göra ingenting.
Pretty sure they are.
If they weren't then how has the FCC pushed similar conditions on other companies?
I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it!
Goodbye DirecTV/AT&T!
I'm not even going to wait for the first shoe to drop. I am now devoting some actual time to finding a valid replacement for DirecTV that will still give me access to all the shows I like: Mr. Robot, The Americans, Silicon Valley, Veep, Halt and Catch Fire, and various shows about catching gold and crabs. Right now Sling TV from Dish Network looks like the best offer.
But just fuck AT&T. I've been a customer at one level or another for going on two decades now. I thought DirecTV was a sneaky asshole with their never ending un-announced rate increases on everything for no good reason, hundreds of channel slots wasted on non-stop infomercials, shopping channels, etc.
I can't imagine what good ol' AT&T has in store for the millions of innocents that just want decent TV at a decent price. The horror.
Less competition, higher prices.
Why not? The FCC could disallow the whole deal instead if the parties don't agree.
I read someone else's comment that said that companies should be required to complete the past-due, public-benefit conditions made for their previous mergers before merging again. I like that idea. Maybe if we repeat that enough then it will start to become a real criteria.
AT&T is back in the cable TV biz.... and they almost destroyed it the last time they tried this.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
The Imperials claim a new system. The power of the Death Star will not be denied.
Just getting by with Netflix and Amazon Prime?
I haven't had a full cable TV package for at least 6 years and I really can't say that I miss it.
I suppose there are some shows that I might be missing out on... but they eventually make it to Prime or Netflix and then I can just binge them. And if they don't, I never saw them in the first place so I can't miss what I never had...
Recently when CenturyLink offered me a bundle deal with my gigabit Internet it almost doubled the price... I opted to just pay the full price for the Internet. I don't understand why people would pay $100 extra a month for hundreds of channels they will never watch...
When will channels just be offered a-la-cart?
My eyes reflect the stars and a smile lights up my face.
How long before DTV's customer service takes a plunge?
"A plan fiendishly clever in its intricacies"- Homer Simpson
Unless they specify what cheaper is, and what speed of Internet qualifies as worthy of the price they charge, this will still be screwing over low-income customers. I've seen these cheaper plans from other companies that were required by deals and they suck. 384 Kbps for $18.91 per month is bullshit. If it wasn't illegal to share Internet with neighbors I could supply 100 families with Internet at that speed with my overpriced $60 tube. For Comcast you must "Have at least one child eligible to participate in the National School Lunch Program" to qualify for their low income Internet. And most people know what “up to 5 Mbps” means... Crap!
I wonder then since DTV is changing hands and getting a new owner can us customers get out of our contract?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
We play the game with the bravery of being out of range
So they are going to cover New York, Los Angeles and Chicago and leave everyone else with dsl and dialup at the same prices they charge for fiber Got it!
Seriously I can already get fiber through the city whats taking att so long to catch up? And I still have 0 wired options at home other than dialup.
Minimum threshold fixed. Thanks!
Can anyone cite any instance of one cable provider buying another and then seeing the rates go down and selection go up?
When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
offer cheaper internet plans to low-income customers
the prices should be the same for everyone
have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
doesn't work if you've got a teenage daughter. There are a tonne of shows not on netflix/amazon. I suppose I could tell her no, but TV for teens is a social thing. Kinda like how us nerds used to gather round and trade strategies on beating Zelda/Mario. Since most of the shows are on at 8pm (just after most teens finish their Homework but just before bed) it's not practical for her to just go over to her friends house. It's part of a finely honed machine designed to entrap parents...
Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
uMatrix log, slashdot.org
I dunno but it causes safari to hang and crash quite often on my ipad.
Minimum threshold fixed. Thanks!
All hail our new corporate overlords. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. The king is dead, long live the king.
etc.
The writing has been on the wall for years, now: Why are we still here?
Kid-proof tablet..
Yes, they are legally binding.
Unfortunately, there is no monitoring or enforcement mechanism, so effectively it is as if there are no conditions applied.
Well, I suppose some crazy guy at AT&T will read the document, and go "hey, we should be doing this", maybe try to actually implement some of the rules in his department and then be summarily fired. It's possible, but unlikely.
Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
It costs $12 a month versus a hundred or so. You're still not getting better programming, but at least you're paying a tenth as much to not get better programming. :-)
Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.
The last time I did business with AT&T they sent me to collections. This wouldn't be so unusual, except they owed me money at the time and when I'd call them to deal with it they couldn't explain why they did it. I want in the market for satellite TV, but I certainly won't be going to direct TV if I ever am.
This acquisition is a win win for consumers and AT&T. Fiber to the premises (fiber to the home) is expanded by 12.5 million. This also gives AT&T the ability to free up bandwidth over twisted pair where it is needed. AT&T is required to maintain net neutrality as well. There will also be more competition for high speed internet as well. This also gives AT&T the ability to compete in foreign markets for satellite TV.
Well, you can do their DVD service for $8, but yes, for their streaming service, you do have to have an Internet connection. Of course, if you have a smartphone, at least in the U.S., your cell service provider will likely require you to have a data plan anyway, so these days it's hard to not have a connection that you could potentially use for watching Netflix if you wanted to. (Whether that data plan would cost you more money if you watched Netflix all day is another matter, of course.)
Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.