DirecTV, Dish in talks again to merge satellite-TV businesses, Bloomberg reports By Reuters

(Reuters) -AT&T Inc and joint-venture partner TPG Inc are in talks to combine their DirecTV service with Dish, Bloomberg News reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The discussions between DirecTV and Dish parent EchoStar Corp are in early stages, people told Bloomberg News, cautioning that an agreement has not yet been reached.

“Rumors about a potential transaction involving DirecTV and Dish are nothing new, but we don’t comment on rumors and speculation,” a spokesperson for DirecTV said in an emailed statement to Reuters.

Dish and AT&T (NYSE:) did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comments outside of business hours. TPG declined to comment.

DirecTV is facing a public battle with Disney that has led to 11 million DirecTV customers losing access to ESPN in the middle of the U.S. Open tennis tournament.

The dispute is taking place against the backdrop of a competing plan by Disney, Fox and Warner Bros Discovery (NASDAQ:) to launch a streaming video joint venture devoted to sports, called Venu Sports.

The launch was temporarily blocked by a court injunction as part of a lawsuit filed by sports streaming rival FuboTV (NYSE:) accusing the media companies of anticompetitive behavior.