#1
Watch out, Comcast. After weeks of rumors, AT&T is reportedly set to acquire DirecTV with an insider source telling BuzzFeed “The deal is done.” Senior executives have already allegedly been notified by DirecTV CEO Mike White, who is expected to publicly announce the acquisition on Sunday. Experts have previously valued the deal at $50 billion. The merger would secure a sizable chunk of the pay-TV customer base for AT&T, as DirecTV has about 20 million subscribers. Such a deal would be a formidable rival to the Comcast-Time Warner Cable merger. It would also give AT&T access to DirecTV's $2.6 billion in free cash flow.