Dish, DirecTV Nix Comment On Merger Report
Dish CEO Purportedly Reconsidering Union of DBS Giants
By Linda Moss -- Multichannel News, 8/5/2008 12:39:00 PM
Dish Network and DirecTV Tuesday declined to comment on a Wall Street Journal report that Charlie Ergen is considering pursuing a merger of the two satellite companies.
The Journal story Tuesday morning appeared a day after Dish Network said that in the second quarter it lost 25,000 subscribers, a stunning setback for the nation’s second largest satellite provider.
The Journal said that Dish Network CEO Ergen, faced with a difficult economic environment and keen competition that has halted his customer growth, is looking to once again pursue a merger with rival and dominant satellite company DirecTV, whose major shareholder is Liberty Media.
Spokesmen for Dish Network and DirecTV declined to comment on the press report.
Back in 2001, Ergen tried to seek a merger of his Dish Network and DirecTV when it was owned by Hughes Electronics, but regulators essentially put a kibosh on the plan.
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