DISH, DIRECTV Merger Talks Have Reportedly Stalled, Despite Years of Public Discussion

The public posturing and positioning around a potential — and perhaps even inevitable — merger between satellite-TV providers DISH and DIRECTV has been going on for years. However, as cord-cutting continues to accelerate and conditions appear ripe for such a move, the New York Post is reporting that talks between the two companies have stalled.

The news comes as the Post’s sources are skeptical that DISH will have enough money to complete its government obligations to continue covering the country with its 5G network and that it might be looking toward bankruptcy. The report indicates that DISH’s co-founder and chairman Charlie Ergen is looking to sell any asset that is not deemed to be at the core of the business and to finance anything that he possibly can.

The FCC-imposed 5G mandate requires that the company covers 70% of the country in 5G by the end of the month, which DISH is expected to meet. However, the company will likely need to spend billions of dollars to meet the next threshold of 75% of America in 2025 — money that the company currently does not have.

Ergen has reportedly explored numerous partnerships in order to help get his company over the finish line, including with DIRECTV, but the specter of significant financial problems in an industry that is trending in the wrong direction has put a stop to those talks moving forward.

While still rooted in the traditional-TV model, DISH and DIRECTV have also begun adapting how they approach streaming. In April, DIRECTV announced that it was reconfiguring its streaming service DIRECTV STREAM into two different, but closely aligned, brands: DIRECTV STREAM and DIRECTV via internet. The move is meant to eventually bridge the gap between the satellite service that the company has provided for nearly 30 years and the streaming platform that will likely be the future of the company.

Similarly, DISH’s live TV streaming service Sling TV continues to expand its offerings in order to appeal to customers who want the expansive options of cable and satellite, but with the freedom and convenience of streaming. Additionally, the company launched Sling Freestream earlier this year as its entry into the world of free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST). Not only is Freestream available for free and without creating a Sling profile, but it is also folded into the traditional TV lineup for Sling live TV subscribers.

Clearly, both DISH and DIRECTV see the benefits in continuing to position themselves as streaming products moving forward, so it would make sense for the two satellite TV companies to finally join forces just as satellite radio companies Sirius and XM did nearly 14 years ago. However, with a foot still stuck in the legacy model of traditional TV — not to mention DISH’s broadband internet business — the financial realities of a potential consolidation seem to have put a stop to such a blockbuster move… at least for now.