Sept 13 (Reuters) - AT&T Inc ( T ) and joint-venture

partner TPG Inc ( TPG ) are in talks to combine their DirecTV

service with Dish, Bloomberg News reported on Friday,

citing people familiar with the matter.

The discussions between DirecTV and Dish parent EchoStar

Corp ( SATS ) are in early stages, people told Bloomberg News,

cautioning that an agreement has not yet been reached.

"Rumors about a potential transaction involving DirecTV

and Dish are nothing new, but we don't comment on rumors and

speculation," a spokesperson for DirecTV said in an emailed

statement to Reuters.

Dish and AT&T ( T ) did not immediately respond to Reuters

requests for comments outside of business hours. TPG declined to

comment.

DirecTV is facing a public battle with Disney ( DIS ) that

has led to 11 million DirecTV customers losing access to ESPN ( DIS ) in

the middle of the U.S. Open tennis tournament.

The dispute is taking place against the backdrop of a

competing plan by Disney ( DIS ), Fox and Warner Bros Discovery ( WBD )

to launch a streaming video joint venture devoted to

sports, called Venu Sports.

The launch was temporarily blocked by a court injunction

as part of a lawsuit filed by sports streaming rival FuboTV

accusing the media companies of anticompetitive behavior.