AT&T sells DirecTV Venezuela
August 17, 2020
By Chris Forrester
DirecTV’s Venezuela unit is being bought by a Chilean-based venture capital business.
The new owner, Scale Capital, says it will provide a free service to existing subscribers to compensate for recent outages, according to Bloomberg. The former boss of the unit, Alexander Elorragia, will be a director of the new business.
DirecTV has been stuck in the middle of a dispute between the US government’s restrictions and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s insistence that the DirecTV service carries channels that are prohibited by the US.
Scale Capital, on its website, says it “leads major turnarounds to deliver sustainable profitability”. Scale’s Managing Partner Oliver Flogel is a former CEO at Telefonica Chile.
DirecTV has seen three senior executives jailed in May – one released but two still held – by Venezuelan authorities for failing to obey the regime’s orders.
However, for consumers the move is good. Broadcasts resumed August 14th.