AT&T’s COO John Stankey has insisted the operator has no plans to sell DirecTV, contradicting reports that the satellite broadcasting unit might be up for sale, perhaps to rival pay-TV company Dish Network. The executive told the Wall Street Journal that DirecTV remains an integral part of AT&T’s future plans, and talked about plans to launch a new video streaming service next year, which integrates the telco’s Time Warner assets. He also said that DirecTV is important for the data it provides for AT&T’s targeted advertising effort. Stankey said regular asset reviews were standard practice, and “not unique to DirecTV”. The reports that DirecTV was up for sale sprang from ongoing reviews that are said to have been sparked by activist investor…