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AT&T, TPG close DirecTV deal

US multiplay telco AT&T and TPG Capital, the private equity platform of global alternative asset firm TPG, have closed their transaction establishing a new company named DirecTV. This new company will own and operate the DirecTV, AT&T TV and U-verse video services previously owned and operated by AT&T. DirecTV had approximately 15.4 million premium video […]

August 3, 2021

DirecTV to stand on its own in August

AT&T is expected to close the spin-off of its DirecTV and other pay-TV operations in early August. The new division will be part-owned (30 per cent) by TPG (the former Texas Pacific Group) while AT&T holds onto 70 per cent. AT&T CFO Pascal Desroches told equity analysts during the wireless company’s Q2/2021 earnings call that […]

July 27, 2021By Chris Forrester

AT&T selling LatAm DirecTV unit

AT&T has told investors on that it would be selling its Latin American DirecTV unit, Vrio Corp, to Argentina-based investment company Grupo Werthein. The deal involves an impairment charge of $4.6 billion (€3.9bn). AT&T did not reveal the amount it would receive from Werthein. The purchase is likely to close early in 2022. Grupo Werthein […]

July 22, 2021By Chris Forrester

DirecTV raising $3.1bn in junk bonds

DirecTV is raising $3.1 billion (€2.6bn) of so-called ‘junk bonds’ (Senior Secured Notes) to help in its split from AT&T, according to an announcement from AT&T. The offer is for a 6-year period and the bonds will be priced on July 22nd and will come from DirecTV Entertainment Holdings. The cash will be used to […]

July 20, 2021By Chris Forrester

Survey: Consumers fatigued by amount of VoD services

As the US continues to emerge and adjust to post-pandemic life, it is evident that the growth and disruption of the streaming revolution continues at pace, according to a Horowitz Research survey of content viewers nationwide. The data show that streaming now supplants MVPD services in penetration and is closing in on time spent by […]

June 24, 2021

HBO Max launches in LatAm on June 29

HBO Max, the WarnerMedia SVoD platform, will launch in 39 territories in Latin America and the Caribbean starting June 29th, with a collection of curated titles from across WarnerMedia’s catalogue and slate of original series and movies, Max Originals, plus live sports in Brazil and Mexico later this year. “Our launch in Latin America and […]

May 27, 2021

Movistar acquires DirecTV in Colombia

Telefónica, through Movistar, has acquired DirecTV in Colombia in an operation subject to approval by the competition authorities in the country. The service currently has 200,000 subscribers. The CEO of Telefónica in Colombia, Fabián Hernández, said that the acquisition “will allow us to consolidate our presence in the market and strengthen our position with a […]

May 26, 2021From David Del Valle in Madrid

AT&T: Must all telco TV end in tears?

This blog replaces one about BT trying to sell its expensively fashioned TV assets. AT&T is also bailing from TV, and its entanglement with entertainment makes BT’s foray look cheap and well-managed. While AT&T keeps a big stake, the maths isn’t appetising from their stockholder’s point of view. The new company has a proforma enterprise […]

May 17, 2021

Analyst: LatAm pay-TV to plateau

Poorly-performing economies have hit Latin American pay-TV, according to the Latin America Pay TV Forecasts report from analyst firm Digital TV Research. The number of pay-TV subscribers fell by 4 million in both 2019 and 2020. Venezuela dropped 2.4 million subscribers in 2020 alone, mainly as a result of DirecTV’s withdrawal. Across Latin America, the […]

March 4, 2021

TPG takes DirecTV stake

As expected, AT&T is to sell off a slice of DirecTV to TPG and spin off the company to a new business. Private equity firm TPG will then own 30 per cent of the new entity with AT&T holding on to the balance. The deal is expected to close in the second half of this […]

February 26, 2021By Chris Forrester