- Sprint (NYSE:S) is giving up some of today's gains, now +3.3%, after news of its latest promotion: "Celebrating" the merger of AT&T (NYSE:T) and DirecTV (NYSE:DTV) by offering a year of free phone service to DTV customers who switch.
- The deal will be offered starting tomorrow through September's end. DirecTV customers who switch to Sprint -- or some existing customers adding lines or phones -- will get 12 months unlimited talk/text and 2 GB of data per line, up to five lines.
- The existing customers would need to add a new line through Sprint Lease, iPhone Forever, Sprint Easy Pay or pay full retail price for a new smartphone.
- Customers would be migrated to the comparable paid plan after the year was up.
- Updated: "This ranks right up there with a desperate Hail Mary pass to a petite defensive lineman," said an AT&T spokesperson (in a Super Bowl allusion?). "With Sprint's network and the many asterisks on this deal, we're feeling good about our offers."