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A14 BUSINESS
Tuesday 1 OcTOber 2024
Satellite service DirecTV buys rival Dish as it fights the onslaught of

streaming services

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN on hand.” And the compa-
and WYATTE GRANTHAM- ny forecast negative cash
PHILIPS flows for the remainder of
AP Business Writer the year while also point-
DirecTV is buying Dish and ing to major looming debt
Sling, a deal it has sought to payments, with more than
complete for years, as the $1.98 billion of debt set to
company seeks to better mature in November.
compete against stream- “With an improved finan-
ing services that have be- cial profile, we will be better
come dominant. positioned to continue en-
DirecTV said Monday that hancing and deploying our
it will acquire Dish TV and nationwide 5G Open RAN
Sling TV from its owner Echo- wireless network,” EchoStar
Star in a debt exchange President and CEO Hamid
transaction that includes a Akhavan said. “This will pro-
payment of $1, plus the as- vide U.S. wireless consum-
sumption of approximately ers with more choices and
$9.8 billion in debt. help to drive innovation at
The prospect of a DirecTV- a faster pace.”
Dish combo has long been By shedding Dish, EchoStar
rumored, with headlines will be able to focus its ef-
about reported talks pop- forts elsewhere, like its wire-
ping up over the years. And less carrier Boost Mobile.
the two almost merged “We are playing to win
more than two decades in the wireless business.
ago but the Federal Com- In this Feb. 23, 2011, file photo, Dish Network satellite dishes are shown at an apartment complex there’s no doubt about it,”
munications Commission in Palo Alto, Calif. Associated Press Akhavan said during a con-
blocked their owners’ then- ference call, adding that
$18.5 billion deal, citing an- pairing this time around. lite customers since 2016. ating efficiencies while cre- the company may need
titrust concerns. DirecTV said Monday that “DirecTV operates in a ating value for customers to seek additional funding
The pay-for-TV market has the transaction will help it highly competitive video through additional invest- and financing in the future
shifted significantly since. bring smaller content pack- distribution industry,” Direc- ment.” to achieve its goals.
As more and more con- ages to consumer at lower TV CEO Bill Morrow said in The current deal could pro- Shares of EchoStar fell more
sumers tune into online prices and essentially pro- a statement. “With greater vide a key lifeline for Echo- than 14% in Monday mid-
streaming giants, demand vide a one-stop shopping scale, we expect a com- Star. The Colorado-based day trading.
for more traditional satellite experience for entertain- bined DirecTV and Dish will telecommunications com- The DirecTV and Dish deal is
continues to shrink. And, ment programming. be better able to work with pany has reportedly faced targeted to close in 2025’s
although high-profile ac- It’s hoping this will appeal programmers to realize the prospect of bankrupt- fourth quarter.
quisitions have proven to to those who have left our vision for the future of cy as it continues to burn But it is contingent on sev-
be particularly tough under satellite video services for tv, which is to aggregate, through cash and see loss- eral factors, including regu-
the Biden-Harris administra- streaming. The company curate, and distribute con- es pile up. latory approvals and bond-
tion, that may make regu- said that combined, Direc- tent tailored to customers’ In a recent securities filing, holders writing off nearly
lators more inclined to ap- TV and Dish have collec- interests, and to be better EchoStar disclosed that it $1.6 billion in debt related
prove DirecTV and Dish’s tively lost 63% of their satel- positioned to realize oper- had just $521 million in “cash to Dish.q

Epic Games sues Google and Samsung over phone settings,

accusing them of violating antitrust laws

By SARAH PARVINI
AP Technology Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Video game maker Epic Games sued Google and Samsung on
Monday, accusing the tech companies of coordinating to block third-party competi-
tion in application distribution on Samsung devices.
At issue is Samsung’s “Auto Blocker” feature, which only allows for apps from authorized
sources, such as the Samsung Galaxy Store or Google Play Store, to be installed. The
feature is turned on by default but can be changed in a phone’s settings. The tool pre-
vents the installation of applications from unauthorized sources and blocks “malicious
activity,” according to Samsung.
In a lawsuit filed in San Francisco federal court Epic’s second against Google the com-
pany said Auto Blocker “is virtually guaranteed to entrench Google’s dominance over
Android app distribution.” Epic, developer of the popular game “Fortnite,” filed the suit
to prevent Google from “negating the long overdue promise of competition in the An-
droid App Distribution Market,” according to the complaint.
“Allowing this coordinated illegal anti-competitive dealing to proceed hurts developers
The Google building is seen in New York, Feb. 26, 2024. and consumers and undermines both the jury’s verdict and regulatory and legislative
Associated Press progress around the world,” Epic Games said in a post on its website.q