What AT&T-DirecTV deal means for consumers
By Brian Stelter, CNN
If approved by regulators, AT&T's $49 billion bid for DirecTV would be the fourth-biggest telecommunications merger in history. So everybody has an opinion about it.
Sunday's deal announcement stirred enthusiasm, opposition and above all else curiosity about what the combination of AT&T (T, Fortune 500) and DirecTV (DTV, Fortune 500) could look like. The House Judiciary Committee immediately said that it would hold a hearing to scrutinize the deal.
In the short term, the deal is unlikely to affect either company's customers. But the long term is another story.
AT&T - like its rivals Verizon (VZ, Fortune 500) andComcast (CMCSA, Fortune 500) - clearly wants to sell bundles of broadband and television that deliver on the promise of anything/anytime/anywhere programming.
FULL STORY ...
AT&T and DirecTV strike $49 billion deal
By Brian Stelter, CNN
AT&T said Sunday that it had agreed to acquire America's biggest satellite television provider, DirecTV, in a deal worth almost $50 billion.
If approved by regulators, the acquisition will give AT&T a stronger hand in shaping the future of television distribution and consumption.
AT&T-DirecTV would be the country's No. 2 provider of television subscribers behind a combined Comcast-Time Warner Cable. Add it all up, and Comcast and AT&T would control more than half of the market for pay television.
"This is a unique opportunity that will redefine the video entertainment industry and create a company able to offer new bundles and deliver content to consumers across multiple screens - mobile devices, TVs, laptops, cars and even airplanes," said AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson.
FULL STORY ...
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The Weather Channel's Jim Cantore and Barry Parr on the dispute between The Weather Channel and DirecTV that has led to the channel being blacked out in 20 million homes.
TV blackout wars in a quiet period
By Brian Stelter, CNN
The TV industry has a holiday tradition straight out of "How The Grinch Stole Christmas:" End of year feuds that lead to channel blackouts for viewers.
But this year, everybody is playing nice. (It's almost as if the hearts of television executives have collectively grown three sizes.)
At issue are the carriage fees that distributors like Comcast and DirecTV (the biggest cable and satellite providers in the United States, respectively) have to pay to carry cable channels. They regularly have to re-negotiate fees with programmers like The Walt Disney Company, which controls ESPN and ABC Family, and Viacom, which owns MTV, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central.
Talks tend to get heated toward the end of the year - but evidently not this year. On Tuesday, Time Warner Cable and Viacom announced a deal a full week before the Jan. 1 deadline.
A number of other high-stakes negotiations have also been completed in recent weeks. An informal survey of industry representatives indicated that last-minute blackout threats were unlikely this New Year's Eve.
Distributors and programmers tend to keep their deals a secret - for competitive reasons and to cultivate a "no drama" perception in the industry.
Read more of Brian's article online here.
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About the host
Brian Stelter is the host of "Reliable Sources" and the senior media correspondent for CNN Worldwide. Before he joined CNN in November 2013, Stelter was a media reporter for The New York Times. He is the author of the New York Times best-seller "Top of the Morning."
Here's his biography. You can read his stories on this blog and at CNNMoney.com/Media/.
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