California Gov. Brown supports AT&T-DirecTV deal

California Gov. Jerry Brown has told the FCC he likes the idea of a combined AT&T (NYSE: T)-DirecTV (NASDAQ: DTV) because it will mean good things for the Golden State.

A Reuters story said the federal regulatory agency released a letter from Brown saying that he likes the deal because it will "keep thousands of jobs in (California) and benefit businesses and consumers there."

Meanwhile, in an effort to push the deal through the regulatory process, the two companies emphasized the competitive aspects of the merged service.

"The integration of AT&T's wired and wireless broadband infrastructure with DirecTV's nationwide video service will allow the merged company to offer bundled broadband and video services in ways that the separate companies could not without the transaction, resulting in lower prices and an improved service experience for customers," the filing with the federal agency said.

AT&T SVP-CFO John Stephens, in comments to analysts during a first quarter earnings call, also said that the merger would likely influence the carrier's over-the-top position.

"I will tell you that over-the-top distribution of video on wireless, on broadband connections with or without linear subscription is something that I'm sure we'll see will be part of packages in the future," said Stephens, noting that he sees it as an "add-on to a subscription package (and) we're certainly up to it."

For more:
- see this Reuters story
- see the L.A. Business Journal story
- see this Seeking Alpha earnings call transcript

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