AT & T DirecTV would consider a merger with Dish Satellite

Satellite TV provider Dish Network is considering merging with AT & T's DirecTV service.

AT & T and Dish have no ongoing negotiations, however Reuters reported Friday.

Dish Network Spectrum Opportunities – it has accumulated spectrum for years but has not yet built its own satellite network – could also be an interesting acquisition for AT & T in deploying its 5G network.

In 2017, Dish Network spent $ 6.2 billion for even more spectrum in the 600 MHz band.

The rumors follow rumors that AT & T could separate from DirecTV, Dish Network being asked to buy it.

DirecTV of AT & T loses customers facing the competition of streaming giants Netflix and Amazon Prime. In April, DirecTV announced a quarterly loss of 83,000 subscribers on its streaming service, following a loss of 267,000 subscribers in the fourth quarter of 2018.

DirecTV Now has completed 2018 with 1.6 million subscribers; by the end of March there were 1.5 million.

Also in the first quarter of 2019, AT & T lost 544,000 traditional pay-TV subscribers in its DirecTV satellite business and AT & T U-verse services. , 4 million television subscribers.

AT & T CEO Randall Stephenson said in April that he plans to continue losing pay-TV subscribers in the next quarter, but that losses will stabilize by the end of 2019. He added that the recent $ 10 increase in DirecTV Now's price of $ 10 a month makes the product more sustainable. "

"Make no mistake, this segment of the market is very price sensitive," he said.

Dish and AT & T did not immediately respond to a request for comment.