AT&T-DirecTV deal unlikely to be blocked - WSJ

(Reuters) - AT&T Inc's $49-billion bid for DirecTV is unlikely to be blocked by U.S. authorities, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Regulators at both the Justice Department and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) are nearing a decision that is poised to clear the deal with some conditions, people familiar with the review had previously told Reuters.

AT&T has not yet met with FCC reviewers to hash out the details of those conditions, but the negotiations were expected to begin in a matter of days, according to sources familiar with the matter.

One of the possible conditions AT&T could agree to involves how the company deals with streaming video, the Journal reported. (http://on.wsj.com/1QFPUh2)

AT&T declined to comment and DirecTV was not immediately available for comment. An FCC spokesman declined to comment.

AT&T, the second-largest U.S. wireless provider, in May last year offered to buy DirecTV, the biggest satellite TV provider, to create the largest U.S. pay TV company.

The deal highlights AT&T's pressing need for fresh avenues of growth beyond the maturing U.S. cellular business, which has become increasingly competitive.

AT&T's shares were up 0.7 percent at $33.71, while DirecTV rose 1.6 percent to $90.83.

(Reporting by Anya George Tharakan and Subrat Patnaik in Bengaluru and Alina Selyukh in Washington; Editing by Savio D'Souza)