Last week it was made official that DIRECTV and DISH would merge with DIRECTV buying DISH Network including Sling TV. With this deal Sling TV and DIRECTV STREAM would merge under a single owner.
So, what is happening next? Will more streaming services merge? Specifically, would YouTube TV and Fubo merge? In recent months it has become clear that many of these streaming services are still not profitable and are struggling to find a way to become profitable. Is Sling TV and DIRECTV STREAM merging a sign of things to come has become a common question from our readers.
In short, the truth is many streaming services are struggling to find a way to become profitable. Ad revenues are down, and a growing amount of competition makes it hard for them to find a way to become profitable.
Some services in recent years have shut down or have been sold because of that, including Redbox and Stirr. Though DIRECTV and DISH’s merger has less to do with merging their streaming services than their satellite services, yet its streaming service is still a very big part of the deal.
So, will we see more mergers including Fubo and YouTube TV?
We will very likely see more streaming services launch in the years to come, yet live TV streaming services are unlikely to merge soon.
There is little benefit to YouTube TV and Fubo merging, for example. While a merger could bring in new subscribers, it would also force the two companies to deal with their debts. This would be the same if any of the major live TV streaming services would merge.
Recently many streaming services have seemed to be willing to watch their competitors go under and just try to get their subscribers when they start to look for a new service. Redbox failing to find a buyer was a great example of this.
So, don’t look for any live TV streaming services or stores to merge anytime soon.
So, what is likely to merge in the near future?
Keep your eye on smaller subscription streaming services being merged into larger ones. This is especially true when they are owned by the same larger company. We have already seen that with Max absorbing some of Warner Bros. Discovery’s smaller streaming services.