Media merger mania could swell in wake of Comcast deal

Comcast's move to acquire Time Warner Cable is creating a ripple effect that could transform the pay-TV industry.

The latest undulation: The floating of a possible purchase of satellite provider DirecTV by telecom giant AT&T. Among other moves or speculation since Comcast announced its $45 billion bid for Time Warner Cable in March 2014: DirecTV and competitor Dish Network have talked about merging, according to a Bloomberg report; Netflix announced connection deals with Verizon and Comcast; and Apple had reportedly approached Comcast, too. Not to be forgotten: Sprint's expected attempt to buy T-Mobile, and TV upstart Aereo's challenge to broadcasters is under review by the Supreme Court. A common thread to all of these: "A trend to get bigger and amass more market share and be in a better position to dictate terms," says Phil Swann of TVPredictions.com. All the speculation suggests that behind the scenes, the biggest pay-TV players are making preparations for a transformed marketplace should the Comcast-Time Warner Cable deal be approved. "The writing is on the wall that these kinds of partnerships have to get made," says Digital World Research analyst PJ McNealy.