DISH Network stock jumped over 4% after report of DirecTV merger talks

DISH Network stock jumped over 4% after report of DirecTV merger talks.The satellite television providers have been in talks on and off for years. Anti-trust concerns from the Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department have kept the two companies from merging. Regulators squashed a proposed deal back in 2002.

This time, a merger "could pass regulatory muster as concerns about the market power of the struggling companies have waned," according to sources cited by The New York Post.

Both companies have seen the number of their paying customersdwindle along the yearsamid growing streaming competition.

DirecTV became a standalone company in 2021, six years after AT&T had acquired it as part of a $67 billion deal. The telecom giant received $7.1 billion as part of the spin-off deal. Private equity firm TPG Capital paid $1.8 billion in exchange for 30% interest of the new DIRECTV company.