From SkyReport

DIRECTV scored a coup late Friday … the DBS company announced that AT&T will market and sell the satellite TV service as a co-branded offering after Jan. 31, 2009.

The relationship between the companies will take effect after the expiration of AT&T's current agreement with DISH Network, AT&T confirmed in a statement. Earlier this year, DISH disclosed that AT&T would terminate the exclusive sales and marketing agreement between the companies. The No. 2 DBS company reported last week that the deal had been extended by a month, to Jan. 31.

DISH didn't have much to say about the DIRECTV/AT&T deal. In a statement, DISH said it has "enjoyed a good partnership with AT&T over the past several years. We look forward to a healthy competition with their U-verse product and DIRECTV."

And while U-verse TV from AT&T is a video competitor to DIRECTV, AT&T said the satellite TV product will become an integral part of the AT&T Advanced TV video portfolio, alongside the telco's IPTV offering.

Nonetheless, AT&T is quite a catch for DIRECTV, given that the DBS giant has relationships with the other big telcos, Verizon and Qwest.

And some more about it....

AT&T, DirecTV Ink Satellite TV Service Deal
Sun. September 28, 2008
Stocks most likely to rise today.
Sep 29, 2008

AT&T and Dire*tTV have reached a commercial agreement under which AT&T will market and sell DirecTV's service as a co-branded satellite television service after January 31, 2009.
The new service, called AT&T/DirecTV, will become part of the AT&T Advanced TV video portfolio, alongside AT&T U-verse TV, after the expiration of AT&T's current satellite agreement with Dish Network.

AT&T said that new AT&T/DirecTV customers will be able to buy DirecTV programming packages, and will be offered a discount for bundling their wireless, home phone and broadband services with AT&T.

Dallas, Texas-based AT&T is a communications holding company whose subsidiaries and affiliates, AT&T operating companies, are the providers of AT&T services in the United States and around the world. The company offers wireless, high speed internet access and voice services. The company publishes Yellow Pages directories in domestic markets and licenses the AT&T brand to companies in such fields as communications equipment.

El Segundo, California-based DirecTV is a satellite television service provider that claims more than 17.1 million customers in the United States.

thanks for the info, brother.

good reading.