How will DirecTV's independence effect my services?

They haven’t really separated from ATT, they have spun off the tv services to a separate company. That includes Directv, Directv Stream and UVerse. ATT still owns 75% of that company. It shouldn’t effect your services at all. Whether or not it effects your billing probably depends on whether your Directv account got converted to or put on ATT’s billing system or not. My Directv account predates ATT acquiring Directv and it never changed. So far there has been no impact to my bill.

Thanks, It's always been confusing and quite a mess.  I log into my AT&T Wireless account to access a link to my Internet & Directv account and pay separately.  I've been trying for hours to find out about canceling DirecTV since I see the discounts running out and prices going up.  I bent once but not again.  I can't find any details on my contract, or if I even have one.

Well, none of that, but I think I was getting two $30 discounts to stay from last time and one of them expired and they said they could no longer offer two, but extended the one.  So, hopefully that didn't extend the contract.

AT&T owns 70% of DIRECTV, but DIRECTV is a separate business with another investor owning 30% of it.  As such, AT&T does not fully control DIRECTV.

AT&T (and/or DIRECTV) can still give deals to customers that have services of both companies if they so choose, similarly to how other companies may include services with unaffiliated companies due to joint marketing arrangements.

AT&T still owns DirecTV. They have added in a new co-owner, with AT&T retaining about 70% primary ownership.

This has resulted in both the community forums and the official websites to be separated. I wouldn't be surprised if like with the original AT&T integration, that what you can manage online will be limited while they update. Hopefully we do not see a huge increase in login issues again.

This is not expected to affect cost of billing, but perhaps the format or branding. That being said, DirecTV still has their annual price adjustment coming up.

Canceling is the same as it always has been. Call DirecTV and when you get the voice prompt say "cancel". Just make sure you are calling the DirecTV number to minimize transfers.

As for discounts to retain your service, those are few and far between compared to the past. After a huge review, their CEO announced that too many people had discounts that were too large and/or for too long. They greatly pulled back discounts to address the issue of customers hemorrhaging the business. Having two simultaneous discounts of $30, so 60 off your bill, is exactly what they are addressing. Discounts like that shouldn't have stacked.

Now it is time for people to review what they watch and choose their package accordingly. Certainly, it is ok to ask if any discounts are available, but if there are none then it is the customer's responsibility to choose a setup that best fits their budget. In the end, TV is an entertainment service, not a requirement for life. This will be hard for some people who are not good with financial responsibility, but that is how it is. Discounts are hoped to be a bit more common again eventually, but expected in appropriate moderation.