The telecom giant is reportedly aiming to unify services under its own AT&T Entertainment moniker, starting in January
Joan E. Solsman | December 3, 2015 @ 7:34 AM
Last Updated: December 3, 2015 @ 7:56 AM
AT&T bought DirecTV earlier this year for $48.5 billion.
AT&T plans to start stamping out the brand names of satellite provider DirecTV and its own U-Verse pay-TV brand next month.
The change is part of a new platform rollout under the AT&T Entertainment name, according to DSL Reports.
An AT&T spokesman told TheWrap that the company will be a corporate brand moving forward, but he added that the company will continue to use DirecTV as a product name for the foreseeable future, given its strength in the market.
The telecom giant became the country’s biggest pay-TV provider earlier this year with its $49 billion takeover of satellite company DirecTV. The transformational purchase was aimed at diversifying AT&T into more television service and “over-the-top” and mobile video. AT&T said then that it was considering changing the DirecTV name.
A notice posted on AT&T’s internal employee site said the shift will begin in January with the launch of our next-generation TV platform. DSL Reports added that all TV product names will change to AT&T Entertainment to better represent it as a single entertainment portfolio.
9 Top TV Turkeys of 2015: From a Damning Murder Confession to an Aborted '90s Revival
"True Detective" Season 2: The second run of HBO's anthology series was no "Fargo" Season 2, despite drawing a pretty stellar cast. After getting totally killed by critics and fans, the future of the Nic Pizzolatto show is as dark and confusing as Season 2's plot.
Tyra Banks: Two months after Tyra Banks launched her new series, "FabLife," the ex-supermodel up and quit the show. Life just got a hell of a lot less fab for co-hosts Chrissy Teigen, Joe Zee, Lauren Makk and Leah Ashley, who are likely soon to be out of a job.
Jeremy Clarkson: The popular host of the even more popular "Top Gear" had it all, and then he had to go and ruin it by punching a producer. While Clarkson is currently being sued for $150,000, the good news is he's got a new job at Amazon to help settle the racial discrimination and personal injury case.
"The View": Pencil this one in under "probably could apply in any recent year." The ABC daytime talk show lost Rosie O'Donnell (again), Rosie Perez, and Nicolle Wallace in 2015; the revolving door welcomed back Joy Behar, and hired Michelle Collins, Raven-Symone, Paula Faris, Candace Cameron Bure and probably others that don't matter enough for us to remember.
Robert Durst: Jinx! Maybe next time you're taking a leak while filming an all-access documentary, check to see if your mic is still hot before confessing to a bunch of murders, Bobby.
TLC: Eh, what took so long in canceling "19 Kids and Counting," TLC? Oh, right -- business got in the way. "19 Kids" was the Discovery cable channel's top-rated show, which still doesn't feel like enough of an excuse to wait like two months to pull the plug on a series that featured an accused child molester.
"Knock Knock Live": "Knock, Knock!" "Who's there?" Absolutely nobody. Ryan Seacrest's awkward attempt at an impromptu game show on Fox was difficult to watch, so nobody did.
"The Briefcase": Speaking of reality TV bombs, we present CBS' "The Briefcase!" The show attempted to say something socially, we suppose, but instead it was dismissed as "poverty porn." Maybe giving the poor people a box of money and pitting them against another poor family wasn't the best idea in socially conscious 2015.
"Coach": Nope, that wasn't a dream. "Coach" was actually set to return on NBC for midseason via a 13-episode order. Instead, they old gang got together to shoot a pilot, which died only somewhat quietly. We won't hold our breath for more "Major Dad."
Networks should give extra thanks on Thursday if they’re not on TheWrap’s list
"True Detective" Season 2: The second run of HBO's anthology series was no "Fargo" Season 2, despite drawing a pretty stellar cast. After getting totally killed by critics and fans, the future of the Nic Pizzolatto show is as dark and confusing as Season 2's plot.
