Could DISH and DIRECTV merge? (2019 edition)

Here we go again folks. Very recently, another site posted an article claiming that the smartest thing for DIRECTV and DISH to do was merge. A few of the tech blogs with axes to grind picked up quickly on this article, claiming both companies are at their weakest points, that merging is inevitable, et cetera. You’ve heard it all before. The latest twist is that one blogger claims to have ironclad proof that AT&T regrets its purchase of DIRECTV and that they can’t wait to unload it.

That’s just ridiculous.

Honestly I had written a much longer article with data points and explanations, but I decided that it would just add fuel to the fire. If you want to read something more long-form, start with an article I wrote 7 years ago when, honestly, I was already tired of talking about this.

Look at the source

When you read this sort of article, look at the source. There’s one blogger out there who has been attacking DIRECTV for close to 15 years. I don’t know what has made him go all John Wick on DIRECTV, but clearly there was something really meaningful in his past that has caused him to take up the anti-DIRECTV cause for longer than 1/3 of the US population has been alive.

As for others including that source article above, ask yourself if they really understand what a merger would mean. Did they just see the word “satellite” in two companies’ products and think they were the same? I hope he doesn’t confuse packing peanuts and peanut butter… because those two things are about as different as DIRECTV and DISH.

A merger…

…a merger is less likely now than at any time in either company’s history, as I see it. The cost of merging the technologies would set the company back years and in a shrinking market, put them at a disadvantage. It wouldn’t lead to an increase in profit and the bottom line is, it doesn’t make sense.

Note from bloodsucking lawyers: This opinion is presented by the author and does not reflect any official position of Signal Group, LLC, AT&T, or any other entity.

About the Author

Stuart Sweet
Stuart Sweet is the editor-in-chief of The Solid Signal Blog and a "master plumber" at Signal Group, LLC. He is the author of over 10,000 articles and longform tutorials including many posted here. Reach him by clicking on "Contact the Editor" at the bottom of this page.