DirecTV to acquire rival Dish Network for $1, subject to regulatory approval

It’s always beautiful when two lonely corporations find one another. DirecTV has reached an agreement to acquire Dish Network, . This would create a global behemoth in the satellite TV space.

It would also provide some financial armor for the struggling Dish Network. The company’s in debt to the tune of billions of dollars because, well, satellite TV isn’t exactly a growth industry anymore. Stream, baby, stream. All told, Dish has $2 billion in debt that’s due in November and only $500 million in available cash. That math don’t add up to .

The specifics of the deal are pretty dang convoluted. It’s a multi-step transaction with a few players. First, the private equity firm TPG will acquire a majority stake in DirectTV from AT&T for $7.6 billion. Next, DirecTV will buy Dish Network for just a single dollar. However, it’ll also take on that $2 billion in debt. EchoStar, the parent company of Dish, will hold onto some parts of the business as part of the transaction, including over $30 billion in wireless spectrum investments. DirecTV will get the Sling TV video service as part of the deal.

The acquisition would create a massive pay-TV provider, with a combined total of around 19 million subscribers. As a counterpoint, cable TV leader Comcast . Netflix is creeping up on , to show the stark contrast between pay-TV and streaming.

The companies say they expect the deal to close in the second half of 2025, though the whole thing is subject to regulatory approval. The Justice Department denied a similar merger , but that was when the satellite TV industry was at its peak.

More recently, the federal government side-eyed a potential merger on the grounds that it would deprive rural customers a viable alternative to Dish and DirecTV when looking to purchase 5G wireless service.