AT&T To Exit Satellite TV Business With $7.6B Sale Of DirecTV

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AT&T To Exit Satellite TV Business With $7.6B Sale Of DirecTV

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After just under a decade of ownership, AT&T is offloading DirecTV.

AT&T has agreed to sell the remainder of its majority stake in digital satellite TV provider DirecTV for around $7.6 billion, according to financial documents filed with the SEC yesterday.

AT&T is selling its 70% stake in DirecTV to private equity firm Texas Pacific Group, in a deal expected to close in the second half of 2025, pending customary closing conditions. TPG previously acquired a 30% stake in DirecTV in 2021, when AT&T decided to spin off the brand as a separate entity. According to a release announcing the news, AT&T eventually brought in $19 billion from that initial transaction.

DirecTV first launched in 1994, slightly ahead of rival Dish Network, as an early entrant in the consumer satellite TV business. AT&T originally acquired DirecTV in 2015, in a transaction valued at around $67.1 billion.

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The agreement arrives as DirecTV is set to merge with its biggest rival. DirecTV announced that it has entered an agreement to acquire DISH DBS, the video distribution business of parent company  EchoStar – which comprises both Dish Network and Sling TV -- in a debt transaction that will see AT&T paying just $1 in cash for the properties, while assuming DISH DBS net debt of approximately $9.75 billion.

“DirecTV operates in a highly competitive video distribution industry,” DirecTV CEO Bill Morrow said in a statement. “With greater scale, we expect a combined DirecTV and DISH will be better able to work with programmers to realize our vision for the future of TV, which is to aggregate, curate, and distribute content tailored to customers’ interests, and to be better positioned to realize operating efficiencies while creating value for customers through additional investment.”

The sale of DirecTV follows AT&T shifting in recent years to a stronger emphasis on its 5G wireless and fiber offerings in its business strategy. AT&T reported 18% growth from its fiber services in its Q2 earnings report, and, in an earnings call with investors, AT&T CEO John Stankey said, “We're now repositioned around our connectivity strengths. This puts us on a clear path to becoming the leading provider of converged 5G and fiber services.”

The deal also arrives amid a major marketing push from DirecTV. In August, the brand kicked off a football season campaign starring Deion Sanders as “Coach Pigeon Prime” as a continuation of its “For The Birds” messaging. 

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October 1, 2024 at 05:46PM