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DirecTV Venezuela relaunches as Simple TV

The rebrand comes after AT&T divested the satellite service due to U.S. sanctions on Venezuela.

The rebrand comes after AT&T divested the satellite service due to U.S. sanctions on Venezuela.

Satellite TV service DirecTV Venezuela has relaunched under a new brand name following its divestiture by AT&T.

The refreshed service, now called Simple TV, comes with four packages of channels, including a slim, budget offering of 55 high-definition channels and a “maestro” plan with 211 high-definition channels.

The rebrand and refreshed lineup comes after AT&T was forced to divest the company following new sanctions imposed on Venezuela by the U.S. government. The service shut down in May under order by the Venezuelan government, citing AT&T’s ownership in the company.

The move left 2 million DirecTV Venezuela customers in the dark until August when a Venezuelan court ordered the satellite broadcaster’s assets to come under the control of government regulator Conatel. AT&T reached an agreement with investment firm Scale Capital to divest the business a short time later. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The agreement was first reported by Bloomberg.

Scale Capital promised to provide three months of free service to subscribers who were affected by the blackout. That deal will come to an end in mid-November with the relaunch of DirecTV Venezuela as Simple TV.

Simple TV also operates in Chile where Scale Capital is headquartered.

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About the Author:

Matthew Keys

Matthew Keys is an award-winning journalist with more than 10 years of experience covering the business of television and radio broadcasting, streaming services and the overall media industry. In addition to his work as publisher of The Desk, Matthew contributes regularly to StreamTV Insider and KnowTechie, and has worked for several well-known news organizations, including Thomson Reuters, McNaughton Newspapers, Grasswire, Comstock's magazine, KTXL-TV and KGO-TV. Matthew is a member of IRE, a trade organization for investigative reporters and editors, and is based in Northern California.

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