The long-rumored acquisition of Dish by DirecTV has been cancelled. Both companies are now pulling the plug after DirecTV notified Dish parent EchoStar of its decision to terminate the deal.
According to DirecTV, the termination of the deal follows Dish’s noteholder’s failure to agree to the terms issued by EchoStar, which was a condition of the agreement in the first place.
“While we believed a combination of DIRECTV and DISH would have benefitted all stakeholders, we have terminated the transaction because the proposed Exchange Terms were necessary to protect DIRECTV’s balance sheet and our operational flexibility,” said Bill Morrow, CEO of DIRECTV, in a statement.
“DIRECTV will advance our mission to aggregate, curate, and distribute content tailored to customers’ interests by pursuing innovative products and providing customers with additional choice, flexibility, and control. We are well positioned for the future with a strong balance sheet and support from our long-term partner TPG.”
According to the company’s announcement, DirecTV will continue to invest in next-generation streaming platforms and revolutionize the industry through new packaging options while integrating content from live TV alongside direct-to-consumer services.
Lightapalooza took place in late February, and the growth of the event has mirrored the rapid ascension lighting fixtures and controls.
The companies were eyeing a merger that would have aimed to enhance consumer video options by offering smaller, more affordable programming packages and integrating multiple content sources. With increased scale, the combined company would have been able to better invest in improving streaming services while maximizing satellite platform efficiencies.
It was seen as a move to better compete with the streaming market, as DirecTV would have acquired Dish TV and Sling TV. Dish launched Sling TV in 2015. Similarly, DirecTV offers DirecTV Stream, a streaming TV service that launched under different branding in 2016.
Dish also offers hybrid setup boxes (STBs) that allows users to easily access broadcast media with all the entertainment options as its traditional broadcast STBs, as well as streaming content from all the top entertainment services that include RSNs, all from the same interface.
Still, the companies say the video distribution industry has become highly competitive, with streaming services from tech companies now dominating over traditional pay TV, resulting in the companies losing a combined 63% of their satellite customers since 2016. With U.S. pay TV penetration below 50%, this transaction aimed to strengthen the financial profiles of DirecTV and EchoStar.
Now, the companies will battle other streaming providers on their own.
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