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

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)