 The media landscape in the US is about to look much, much smaller. Yesterday the competition was vast and free. Today, a tale of two conglomerates. I'm Ben Popper and this is 90 Seconds on the Verge. AT&T has agreed to acquire DirecTV for $48.5 billion. The merge firms will control some 26 million TV subscribers, making it second only to the hypothetical 30 million of a combined Comcast-Time Warner company. AT&T is hoping this merger will give it a leg up in the fast-growing market for streaming video. It never made much headway with its U-verse TV offerings. Partnering with DirecTV will give it scale and access to exclusive programming like NFL Sunday Ticket. Just how important is premium content like the NFL? The terms of the deal actually stipulate that AT&T can walk away from the merger if DirecTV doesn't win the contract with the NFL to renew that exclusive. AT&T hopes the merger with DirecTV will allow it to offer better package deals. For example, a customer could walk into an AT&T store and buy satellite TV subscription, broadband internet service, and a smartphone all on one bill. The deal, like the Comcast-Time Warner merger, must still pass regulatory scrutiny before it's approved. If these two mega mergers are approved, the communications and media landscape in America will have shifted dramatically. Taken together, AT&T and Comcast will control at least 60% of the pay TV and broadband internet market. For more on these acquisitions, check out The Verge. Coming up, I agree to acquire some jelly for my peanut butter sandwich, but will the snack department approve the merger?
 The media landscape in the US is about to look much, much smaller.
 Yesterday the competition was vast and free.
 Today, a tale of two conglomerates.
 I'm Ben Popper and this is 90 Seconds on the Verge.
 AT&T has agreed to acquire DirecTV for $48.5 billion.
 The merge firms will control some 26 million TV subscribers,
 making it second only to the hypothetical 30 million of a combined Comcast-Time Warner company.
 AT&T is hoping this merger will give it a leg up in the fast-growing market for streaming video.
 It never made much headway with its U-verse TV offerings.
 Partnering with DirecTV will give it scale and access to exclusive programming like NFL Sunday Ticket.
 Just how important is premium content like the NFL?
 The terms of the deal actually stipulate that AT&T can walk away from the merger
 if DirecTV doesn't win the contract with the NFL to renew that exclusive.
 AT&T hopes the merger with DirecTV will allow it to offer better package deals.
 For example, a customer could walk into an AT&T store and buy satellite TV subscription,
 broadband internet service, and a smartphone all on one bill.
 The deal, like the Comcast-Time Warner merger, must still pass regulatory scrutiny before it's approved.
 If these two mega mergers are approved,
 the communications and media landscape in America will have shifted dramatically.
 Taken together, AT&T and Comcast will control at least 60% of the pay TV and broadband internet market.
 For more on these acquisitions, check out The Verge.
 Coming up, I agree to acquire some jelly for my peanut butter sandwich,
 but will the snack department approve the merger?