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AT&T Businesses Television News Technology

FCC Approves AT&T's DirecTV Purchase 100

Posted by Soulskill from the time-to-get-large dept.
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.
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FCC Approves AT&T's DirecTV Purchase More

FCC Approves AT&T's DirecTV Purchase

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  • I for one, welcome our monopolistic overlords (Score:5, Funny)

    by Culture20 ( 968837 ) on Friday July 24, 2015 @03:05PM (#50177397)
    I just wish it were Ma Bell.

  • Time to cut the cord (Score:3, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 24, 2015 @03:07PM (#50177423)

    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.

    • Re:Time to cut the cord (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Darinbob ( 1142669 ) on Friday July 24, 2015 @03:23PM (#50177537)

      Problem isn't DirecTV itself, it's already better than than any cable company. The problem is with the state of the media companies; crap shows, crap lineups, bundled packages, restrictions on what providers can do with the content, etc.

    • We dropped all cable subscriptions and now only use Netflix...and it appears that nothing of value was lost. Honestly, 100 channels of crap we'd never watch and 20 more we might watch once a year (if that). As a result we get a little more time to spend doing stuff we like rather than mindlessly watching the current pop-culture fad. We may not be typical consumers of TV but we can't be the only ones who drop it and realize that we don't miss it a bit.

      • I did the same thing over 2 years ago. I built an a grey-hoverman antenna for broadcast tv and netflix for everything else. The only change is one less drain on my money.

    • Re:Time to cut the cord (Score:5, Funny)

      by Mr D from 63 ( 3395377 ) on Friday July 24, 2015 @04:07PM (#50177923)
      They ought to make some shows about Alaska. Can't believe nobody has thought of that yet.

      • They ought to make some shows about Alaska. Can't believe nobody has thought of that yet.

        Yeah! And gold, people LOVE gold, right? It's a sure thing!

        Or, I know...how about a show that takes a mildly challenging profession and drama's it up a bit? You know, take months of footage, then cut and edit to make it sound like the most dangerous thing in the world, worse than swimming with sharks while wrapped in a bacon wetsuit! It's prime-time GOLD!

    • Don't remind me where Jon is going.... It's true DTV seen the end coming and said why not lol

  • Choice. Dead. (Score:5, Informative)

    by Tablizer ( 95088 ) on Friday July 24, 2015 @03:12PM (#50177451) Journal

    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.

    • 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.

      That's as accurate description of AT&T as I've ever heard. We refer to them as "an overflowing shit-bucket with a turd for a handle."

  • 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.

  • Goodbye! (Score:5, Insightful)

    by zamboni1138 ( 308944 ) on Friday July 24, 2015 @03:19PM (#50177499)

    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 [slingtv.com] 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.

    • Re:Goodbye! (Score:4, Interesting)

      by future assassin ( 639396 ) on Friday July 24, 2015 @03:35PM (#50177621)

      There you go https://thepiratebay.la/ [thepiratebay.la] all you need is a big hd and a media box.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by sims 2 ( 994794 )

      Yeah whats up with that does anyone really want to pay $100 to watch 40 different home shopping channels?

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by Anonymous Coward

        HA!!! and how about that airline food!

        • Re: (Score:1)

          by sims 2 ( 994794 )

          Well actually the last time I flew I took Alaska airlines and the cheese and fruit platter and pulled pork dish were both good on the way to alaska.

          I did not however like the reuben sandwich they were selling on the way back.

          Overall as a first time flyer I was impressed with the food but surprised at the lack of peanuts.

          The view was great we even flew through a lightning storm on the way back.

          However the wifi sucked a 50Mb ipad app would not finish on a 3 hour flight.

    • that will still give me access to all the shows I like

      * Mr. Robot [apple.com] - $24.99
      * The Americans [apple.com] - $34.99
      * Silicon Valley [apple.com] - $24.99
      * Veep [apple.com] - $24.99
      * Halt and Catch Fire [apple.com] - $24.99

      For about the price of a month's worth of cable you could have all the shows you're interested in and save the other 11 months for something else. I did this years ago, picked up an AppleTV - works great for streaming Netflix and my purchased DVD / Blu-Rays I've been ripping into my iTunes Library - and now just get season's passes for the s

    • install peer guardian and flashblock, then use primewire.ag for all that. Most TV shows are up within an hour of their initial broadcast.

  • Drat (Score:3, Insightful)

    by p51d007 ( 656414 ) on Friday July 24, 2015 @03:20PM (#50177511)
    Less competition, higher prices.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by JustAnotherOldGuy ( 4145623 )

      Less competition, higher prices.

      Yup. If I had mod points, they'd be yours. These mergers or consolidations NEVER result in a benefit to the consumer. Never, I've not seen it happen once in the last 40 years. It always means crappier service and higher prices.

  • We need a verification stage (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 24, 2015 @03:29PM (#50177563)

    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.

  • And they are back..... (Score:3)

    by Lumpy ( 12016 ) on Friday July 24, 2015 @03:34PM (#50177607) Homepage

    AT&T is back in the cable TV biz.... and they almost destroyed it the last time they tried this.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by sims 2 ( 994794 )

      Well the trucks they park out back of where I work advertise att's cable service although its not sold here.

      The people who work there think they are about to have to start carrying dishes on their trucks.

    • They have been for a long time with U-Verse. I'm a subscriber right now, and previously about 6 years ago or so. It's not bad, but I'm still seriously considering cutting all cable TV cords.

  • Dum dum te dum dum te dum dum te dum (Score:4, Funny)

    by enjar ( 249223 ) on Friday July 24, 2015 @03:42PM (#50177687) Homepage

    The Imperials claim a new system. The power of the Death Star will not be denied.

  • Anyone else (Score:5, Insightful)

    by The-Ixian ( 168184 ) on Friday July 24, 2015 @03:48PM (#50177749)

    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?

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      When media companies start allowing distributors to offer them a la carte. Which will never happen when there are studios pumping out crap no one wants to see surviving by getting bundled with the stuff people do want.

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by sims 2 ( 994794 )

        Which typically consists of 19 channels of crap and one good channel people actually want when suddenlink dropped viacom the only channel I missed was comedy central and suddenlink replaced it with fxx which has better movies anyway.

        But yeah just amazon prime and netflix here tried hulu for about 20 minutes told them to cancel the trial after i saw they were going to have me pay to watch ads.

        Netflix and amazon prime user for 1 year 7 months now.

        See microsoft just because you jack the prices up from $250 a y

    • 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...

      • grow a pair! you think caving in and helping your daugher rot her brain with stupid tv is a GOOD thing?

        parents. taking the easy way out, because.....reasons!

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by sims 2 ( 994794 )

        Firstly most of the major networks let you watch their shows on either their own service or hulu for free w/ads the day after they air.

        Second you can even buy a dvr nowadays that will record antenna tv altho the monthly service for the guide is more than a netflix sub on top of the dvr price.

        Thirdly i suppose you could try something like sling tv although i really think thats more of a ripoff than hulu plus.

        I can't stand to watch tv on cable or antenna anymore after having netflix for over a year on antenna

    • We also have Hulu Plus, so we can catch Modern Family and The Middle --- although I don't know if we actually need the subscription anymore... On another note, what the F is up with slashdot these days?

      uMatrix log, slashdot.org

      18:20:29 script http:||slashdot.org/?source=autorefresh{inline_script}
      18:20:29 cookie http:||slashdot.org/{localStorage}
      18:20:28 image http:||a.fsdn.com/sd/classic/img/glyphish-icons-16-w.png
      18:20:28 script http:||www.googleadservices.com/pagead/conversion.js
      1

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by sims 2 ( 994794 )

        I dunno but it causes safari to hang and crash quite often on my ipad.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by adolf ( 21054 )

        Slashdot's 3rd-party linking is now worse than even CNET, Target, Walmart, etc.

        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?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by antdude ( 79039 )

      How about live events like sports? :P

  • How long before DTV's customer service takes a plunge?

  • offer cheaper internet plans to low-income (Score:5, Insightful)

    by networkzombie ( 921324 ) on Friday July 24, 2015 @04:02PM (#50177877)
    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!

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by sims 2 ( 994794 )

      Afaik the business att uverse plan we have at work being a business plan has no such limitation although it is $45 for 12mbps 1mbps up basic 384 service is only like $19/mo for residents I think.

      But really what are you going to do with 384Kbps?
      no other wired provider in my area even offer plans that slow and I have 2 other providers.

  • Escape Clause (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward

    I wonder then since DTV is changing hands and getting a new owner can us customers get out of our contract?

  • 12.5 million people really? thats all??? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by sims 2 ( 994794 ) on Friday July 24, 2015 @04:13PM (#50177975)

    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.

  • 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.

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