DirecTV goes after Dish subscribers with new promo

DirecTV is going directly after its closest rival with a new promotion encouraging Dish Network subscribers to switch.

For a limited time, DirecTV is offering a $150 prepaid Visa card to Dish TV subscribers who drop Dish and sign up for a DirecTV package under a two-year contract. The promotion is not extended to DirecTV Stream.

The two satellite providers have a history of targeting each other’s subscribers. Dish Network’s website features a dedicated landing page comparing its service to DirecTV and promising $384 in savings over the next two years for subscribers who go with Dish instead of DirecTV.

However, the fighting over subscribers could become a moot point if Dish and DirecTV merge.

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Dish Network Chairman Charlie Ergen has repeatedly stated that a DirecTV-Dish merger—whether it’s this year or in 10 years—is “inevitable.” He reiterated that stance in August, saying a merger is more of a “timing issue” than anything else.

A recent report from CTFN citing sources close to Dish suggests that getting AT&T out of the picture has cleared a “major hurdle” for the merger and that a “regulatory trial by fire” could be a step closer to happening.

The FCC and U.S. Justice Department blocked the first attempt at a DirecTV-Dish merger nearly 20 years ago. But as high-speed internet has become more readily available and streaming services from both distributors and programmers have provided more optionality, regulatory approval for a Dish-DirecTV merger seems easier now.

The aggressive new promotion comes shortly after AT&T completed its deal to spin off DirecTV, U-verse and AT&T TV into a new combined company called DirecTV and run by TPG Capital. When the deal was finalized in August, DirecTV had approximately 15.4 million total subscribers, making it the second largest pay TV provider in the U.S.