Virginia Democrat likes the idea of a merger

Since EchoStar, Hughes and its DBS unit DirecTV announced their merger in late October, Capitol Hill has been buzzing about the deal.

Rep. Rick Boucher, a Virginia Democrat, said soon after the $25.6 billion merger was announced that he was confident regulatory agencies reviewing the transaction "will recognize the pro-competitive synergies and public interest benefits that attend this acquisition.

"A DirecTV-EchoStar combination is the best way to fulfill satellite's potential in a converged communications era," he said. "By combining the DirecTV assets with EchoStar's satellite operations, the merger will produce a stronger multichannel video programming distributor that can compete more vigorously with cable companies and accelerate the delivery of ubiquitous broadband services to rural markets."

Boucher also said the combination will help rationalize satellite capacity, which will allow for the uplink of more local TV stations across the nation. "With the combination, more local TV markets will receive local-into-local service with consequent pro-competitive benefits," he said.

From Sky Report (Used With Permission)