AT&T has made a predictable yet contentious start to 2021, announcing milestone moves from opposing ends of its video strategy spectrum, possibly as a precursor to offloading DirecTV. This first was to fold AT&T TV Now belatedly into the simpler moniker of AT&T TV; the second, from the WarnerMedia division, was to respond to the backlash over scheduling 17 movies for launch directly on HBO Max this year, by offering more favorable contracts to filmmaking and acting communities. Both are examples of the kind of necessary business decisions AT&T must make if it wants to sell off its burdensome DirecTV satellite business. But will it ever happen? Without Covid-19, AT&T might have already secured a buyer for DirecTV for a…