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Follow on Google News | What future for DirecTV's Latin American Pay-TV operations?By: Dataxis DirecTV is the second largest pay-TV operator in the United States - with 20.35 million subscribers end-2014, and second largest pay-TV operator in Latin America (through Sky Brasil and DirecTV Panamericana) DirecTV is also a minority shareholder in Sky Mexico - a DTH operator run by Televisa. The three platforms together make DirecTV the largest pay-TV operator in the region by number of subscribers (19.25 million - 32.8% regional share) and income (US$ 8.7 billion). Dataxis forecasts that the three operations of DirecTV in Latin America will surpass the US in terms of total customers this year. However, DirecTV only has a marginal presence in the Latin American telecoms market via fixed wireless access platforms in Argentina and Brazil (160,500 connections) Dataxis believes AT&T's control of DirecTV's Latin American business was merely a consequence of the deal in the US rather than an actual objective and, although AT&T executives have voiced enthusiasm for the Latin American assets, a number of scenarios could now play out: - AT&T maintains the status quo and keeps DirecTV as a focused pay-TV player. - AT&T replicate its US strategy with the purchase of telecom assets in Latin America to offer multiple services. - AT&T sells the pay-TV businesses in Latin America. At the end of 2014, AT&T announced the acquisition of the mobile assets of Iusacell and Nextel in Mexico. However, the deal will not allow it to form an immediate association with Sky Mexico and, this year, Televisa has actually re-invested in the Mexican mobile market as an MVNO on the Telcel network (America Movil). In the rest of Latin America, AT&T does not have telecommunications assets for the mass market. Historically, AT&T has not been aggressive in international expansion, which leads us to believe that increasing its footprint outside the US through DirecTV was not one of its medium-term objective. We also believe DirecTV cannot remain outside of the trend towards convergence in Latin America. In the event that AT&T would look to sell DirecTV Latin America, Dataxis has identified several companies that could be interested various assets, including America Movil, Altice, Liberty Global and Telefonica, and a few others at a national level. -ENDS- For more information please contact: Carlos Blanco, Research Director Delphine Michel, PR & Marketing Manager Email: Press@dataxis.com About Dataxis Dataxis is a Global Business Intelligence firm that specializes in delivering online statistical intelligence, reports and events covering the Telecom, TV & Media businesses. Dataxis launched its first quarterly online intelligence service in 2000, and now has offices in Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and India. For further information please visit www.dataxis.com SOURCE: Dataxis End
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