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Recent machinations in the ownership of DirecTV may culiminate in the satellite operator being sold to one of the major telephone companies, Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei has told the Associated Press.

Liberty Media's John Malone acquired DirecTV in a stock swap with Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. in 2008. Liberty Entertainment was recently spun off from Liberty Media and merged with DirecTV. The Liberty holding corporation holds a 54 percent stake in DirecTV, which is expected to be combined with the rest of DirecTV's publicly traded shares. The new entity will be independent from Malone, although he will still be a minority shareholder with 24 percent. This will leave it free to pursue a new destiny.

Might that include a sale of DirecTV to one of the major telcos? Under the outgoing corporate structure, no. Under the new one, "it is possible," says Greg Maffei, CEO of Liberty Media.

The telcos, notable AT&T and Verizon, have been competing with cable operators for "triple play" customers, but the slow rollout of video services has hampered their efforts to compete in that area. With satellite service as an option, one of them could sign up a lot of new customers fast.

Malone may have gotten out just in time. DirecTV's first-quarter profit fell due to the expense of attracting new subscribers. While the marketing campaign has brought in 460,000 new customers, better than forecasted, the recession may eventually begin eating into the base.

See Associated Press.