US: How AT&T’s DirecTV buy will help – and hurt – Comcast

As AT&T’s officially-announced plans to acquire DirecTV for $48.5 billion continues to make headlines, industry experts examine how the merger could potentially help cable giant Comcast in its efforts to acquire Time Warner Cable, but is also likely to position AT&T as a direct competitor against Comcast.

According to some reports, Comcast’s move to acquire a major rival signals a massive shift in the communications industry. The Comcast/TWC deal and the AT&T/DirecTV deal could help each other convince federal officials, especially the Federal Communications Commission, that competition is heating up in the media market and telephony and television services continue to overlap.

But experts note that AT&T’s acquisition will place it in direct competition with Comcast as the wireless conglomerate enters the satellite TV industry, and as the lines that separate telephony and television services blur.

Both deals are facing significant regulatory hurdles by the FCC and the Federal Trade Commission.

Full content: Boston Herald and Buzzfeed

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