The wait for DirecTV subscribers (and Pac-12 fans) may soon be over.
According to multiple outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Reuters and Fortune, the FCC is set to approve wireless carrier AT&T's $49 billion acquisition of satellite TV provider DirecTV.
The move, according to Reuters, will combine the country's largest satellite provider with its second-largest wireless carrier.
Jon Wilner of The Mercury News said Tuesday that the carrier's acquisition of DirecTV may have an added benefit to subscribers, particularly those on the West coast.
Per Wall Street Journal: FCC set to approve AT&T takeover of DirecTV. Could result in @Pac12Networks on DTV this season
— Jon Wilner (@wilnerhotline) July 21, 2015
allow DirecTV viewers to finally watch Pac-12 Networks programming
That’s good for the Pac-12, which has a business relationship with AT&T — it’s a sweeping partnership that includes sponsorship and equipment, not merely distribution — and no relationship with DTV.
*** Does this mean the Pac-12 Networks will be available on DTV in time for football?
After tracking this story for countless hours and interviewing innumerable sources on the topic, I can say for absolute certainty that I have no clue.
The Pac12Nets on the DTV airwaves by Sept. 5 can no longer be ruled out, but nor can it be counted on.
Multiple sources have suggested to me that AT&T could ask the conference for a lower in-market subscription price (approx $0.80) than the Pac12Nets are currently charging U-verse, Comcast, Time Warner, etc.
That’s when this could get interesting … when the league’s business model could require a tweak or two.
If the Pac-12 agreed to a price drop in exchange for distribution on DirecTV, then Comcast and DISH and all the other partners would ask for a similar deal (i.e., favored-nation clause).
Commissioner Larry Scott would have to determine whether the lower price for all partners would be offset by the projected increase in distribution.
DirecTV has not received Pac-12 Network content since the network's creation in August 2012, as competitor Dish Network is the only satellite company that has agreed to a deal with the conference.
The official Pac-12 Networks site's explanation for not having a relationship with DirecTV reads as follows:
Pac-12 Networks produces 850 live events each year, making us one the top producers of live sports in the country. DIRECTV doesn’t offer any other full-time sports network in this manner, including the three that they own (ROOT Sports). With all of that great content and millions of fans and alumni across the United States and abroad, we shouldn’t be a test case or be treated any different than the other full-time sports networks carried by DIRECTV.
Reach the reporter at fardaya@asu.edu or follow @fardaya15 on Twitter.
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