DirecTV Acquires Dish and Sling TV for $1, Assumes Billions in Debt

Satellite TV giant DirecTV will acquire its longtime competitor, Dish TV, along with Sling TV for a payment of $1 and will assume approximately $9.8 billion in debt.
The deal, announced on Monday, will see DirecTV take over Dish and Sling from current owner EchoStar. The move, which has been in the works for years, aims to address the growing challenge posed by streaming services like Netflix and Hulu, which have steadily eaten into the traditional pay-TV market.
The idea of a DirecTV-Dish merger has been circulating for over two decades, with an earlier attempt in 2002 being blocked by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) due to antitrust concerns. However, with the industry shifting drastically since then—particularly as more consumers opt for streaming services over satellite—the latest deal may have a better chance of getting regulatory approval.
DirecTV said on Monday it hopes the acquisition will allow it to offer smaller, more affordable content packages, providing a streamlined, one-stop-shop for entertainment.
Newsweek reached out to DirecTV via email on Monday for comment.
DirecTV CEO Bill Morrow said he sees the deal as an opportunity to cater to the growing number of customers who have turned away from traditional satellite services in favor of streaming. According to DirecTV, the company and Dish have lost a combined 63 percent of their satellite customers since 2016.
“DirecTV operates in a highly competitive video distribution industry,” Morrow said in a statement. “With greater scale, we expect a combined DirecTV and Dish will be better able to work with programmers to realize our vision for the future of TV, which is to aggregate, curate, and distribute content tailored to customers’ interests, and to be better positioned to realize operating efficiencies while creating value for customers through additional investment.”
Meanwhile, EchoStar stands to benefit from offloading Dish, since the company has been facing mounting financial difficulties. EchoStar, which also owns wireless carrier Boost Mobile, has been struggling with shrinking cash reserves and looming debt obligations. According to recent filings, the company had only $521 million in cash available with over $1.98 billion in debt coming due by November.
EchoStar President and CEO Hamid Akhavan expressed optimism about the transaction.
“With an improved financial profile, we will be better positioned to continue enhancing and deploying our nationwide 5G Open RAN wireless network,” Akhavan said. “This will provide U.S. wireless consumers with more choices and help to drive innovation at a faster pace.”
“We are playing to win in the wireless business, there’s no doubt about it,” Akhavan added, noting that further funding may be needed to achieve its broader business goals.
Despite the announcement, EchoStar’s stock took a hit, dropping over 13 percent on Monday morning.
The merger between DirecTV and Dish is slated for completion in late 2025, pending regulatory approvals and the restructuring of Dish’s debt, including writing off $1.6 billion owed to bondholders. Upon finalization, the newly formed company will be headquartered in El Segundo, California.
The acquisition comes at a time of significant change for DirecTV’s former parent company, AT&T. On the same day as DirecTV’s announcement, AT&T disclosed that it would be selling its remaining 70 percent stake in the satellite company to private equity firm TPG for a reported $7.6 billion. This sale marks AT&T’s exit from the entertainment sector, a business it once dominated.
AT&T originally acquired DirecTV in 2015 for $48.5 billion but began scaling back its involvement after facing customer losses. By 2021, AT&T sold a 30 percent stake in DirecTV to TPG for $16.25 billion. The final sale of AT&T’s stake will be completed by the second half of 2025, with incremental payments throughout the next several years.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.