NEW YORK (AP) – The head of the Federal Communications Commission has recommended approving AT&T’s $48.5 billion purchase of DirecTV. The deal would create the country’s largest provider of cable or satellite TV.
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said in a statement Tuesday that he approved the deal with certain conditions. The other four commissioners still have to vote on the proposal.
The Department of Justice approved the deal, saying Tuesday that it doesn’t “pose a significant risk to competition.”
The company would have 26.4 million cable and satellite TV subscribers in the U.S., topping Comcast as well as a possible new giant, Charter, which wants to buy Time Warner Cable. It would also include AT&T’s nationwide network of tens of millions of wireless customers, its Internet and landline phone services and DirecTV’s millions of customers in Latin America, where AT&T wants to grow.
Consolidation has swept the industry as people increasingly turn to the Internet for video and content costs rise for cable and satellite TV companies. A bigger AT&T would have more leverage in negotiations with big media companies over the price paid for popular channels. It would also combine a nationwide satellite TV service with a nationwide wireless network, giving it the ability to sell new kinds of video packages as people increasingly watch on their mobile devices.