Verizon apparently isn’t going to take AT&T’s DirecTV and Time Warner acquisitions sitting down. In fact, according to recent reports, the company will make its own big cable acquisitions to better compete with AT&T and to help the company grow the demand for its wireless data products.
According to a New York Post report, Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam told friends at CES that he wants to buy into big cable. So who would Verizon buy? Well, according to the Post’s sources, it could be a company as huge as Charter or Comcast.
There’s currently no indication that Verizon is actually in talks with any major cable companies about an acquisition just yet — but if McAdam’s alleged interest is anything to go by, those talks could start soon.
Verizon’s proposed Yahoo acquisition is in question following the massive Yahoo hack that was revealed a few months ago. Still, an acquisition of the likes of Comcast would help Verizon become a media conglomerate thanks to Comcast’s ownership of NBCUniversal.
Wireless companies like Verizon are increasingly making an effort to offer things like TV, phone services, and data services, essentially offering an all-inclusive plan. To help with that, Verizon and other wireless companies are pouring money into 5G, which will offer a much faster data connection than 4G, which is the current standard.
In any case, it will likely be a while before any kind of acquisition materializes, and by that time — the next three to four years — 5G could be in the early stages of rolling out.
