Dish Chairman Charlie Ergen, who has long said a merger with satcaster rival DIRECTV is inevitable, today may have put a timetable on such a deal.
“You’re hesitant to be a political football for somebody to complain about big companies or whatever in an election cycle. But that election cycle is over next week. And then you have a window, where I think all companies are looking at M&A,” Ergen told financial analysts today in a conference call following the release of the company’s third quarter report.
He added: ““If the timing (of a DIRECTV-Dish merger) was right, it would be in the near term, not the longer term.”
The reference to avoiding the mid-term Congressional elections, which are next week, is similar to what Ergen said in August when asked about a possible merger between Dish and DIRECTV.
“We think that’s inevitable, but I do think you’re close enough to the election today that I think regulatory is your biggest risk,” Ergen said then. “And I think you’d wait and see which way the wind is blowing and you’re going to know that in the next couple of months.”
The merger buzz has escalated in the past several years with both Dish and DIRECTV losing millions of subscribers due to cord-cutting and other factors. Ergen has said repeatedly that the merger is “inevitable” because the market can no longer support two satellite TV services. The combining of the two satcasters would enable the company left standing to more effectively compete against the onslaught of new streaming ventures as well as existing cable TV services.
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The New York Post reported last January that the two companies were discussing a merger and Ergen’s statements today might suggest the talks have continued off the radar.
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As a subscriber to Directv for over 20 years I would hate to see Charles In Charge. I’m quite happy with my current service and that would end with Ergen as Chairman.
I agree, If Charlie is in charge, (and he wouldn’t merge unless he was) I believe we will lose our extra benefits
I’m currently with Directv. I’ve used Dish Network previously. There are pros and cons for each. I’d have to see what packages would be available after a merger. I’m ready to switch to YouTube if I have to. I hate the prospect of relying on the internet for TV service since Fiber is still not available where I live.
On the flip side, I’ve been a Dish subscriber for close to 20 years, and I *really* like it. With that said, I’m less and less of a fan of Charlie, mostly because I’m a San Jose Sharks fan, and he didn’t renew the deal with NBC Sports Bay Area (California) a few years ago. And to be honest, I’ve been slowly ramping up to chucking Dish and going streaming for everything anyway … simply because I want to watch the Sharks play. Dumb, shortsighted move, Charlie.
And DirecTV doesn’t carry NBC Sports Bay Area either.
Have had DTV since 1995. Mainly for NFL ST. But with ticket leaving, i’ll be stuck for sure if DTV and Dish merge. Don’t like the way Charlie does business. Don’t want to be stuck with streaming. For being a 21st century technology it sure is unintuitive, and hard to navigate.
If and when Charlie is in charge, DirecTV customers will see a lot more channel blackouts.
How many current Directv customers will leave satellite service if Charlie is in charge of a merged company? I will be one of those that leaves DTV and go with Verizon cable. Charlie causes way too many blackouts and his ego gets in the way of his product.
Much depends on the programming changes, if I can keep my set of programs at same price…, also i’ve read the new owners (partly) of DTV, don’t want Charlie in charge, that will hold up ant merger
PS, DAVE, WHERE ARE YA?
Now that the midterms are over and nothing changed, does this mean the merger is off???
It’s been over a month now, and still nothing. Is the merger dead?
TV answer man, please are there any updates??