[buzzcut]

Sirius and XM satellite radio, could this clear the way for a merger of Dish and the "main comp"?

if my memory serves me correct, i believe this was tried before? also, believe it was killed for "competition" reasons. seems to be more and more competition out there now.

was just curious if anyone had any thoughts on the subject?

just your "average joe" Dish subscriber (just celebrated 2yrs July 6th), so, don't follow this stuff too closely.

have a good one everybody!

 

[DBS Commando]

Will never happen. Would completely monopolize the markets in which TV subscribers only have 2 providers to choose from; Dish or Direct.

 

[space86]

With the approval of the XM and Sirius merger, could the merger of Dish Network and Directv be next ?

 

[harsh]

With the approval of the XM and Sirius merger, could the merger of Dish Network and Directv be next ?

While the DARS approval seems to suggest that the tide has turned, I don't think DISH is going to spend the money to try and buy DIRECTV again after what happened last time.

 

[scooper]

No way no how. I don't think even Charlie thought it was going to go through the first time, but it was worth it to look at the competition's books.

 

[kstuart]

Note that the XM-Sirius merger vote was 3 Republicans For, 2 Democrats Against.

A betting man would bet that in the future, the FCC will be a majority of Democrats.

I doubt that we will see any big mergers of any sort of companies in the next few years, even where the FCC is not involved...

 

[jclewter79]

As much as I prefer E* over D*, I would hate to see a merger. In the area I live in they are the only 2 choices. Then again, it could be a pretty great company, rock solid HDDVR's, almost unlimited bandwidth, but, prices would be sky high.

 

[tcusta00]

I think the long-term profitability/viability card was what XMSR/SIRI played to get their merger approved. I think it's unlikely, but possible that it will be tried with satellite TV.

Not to turn this into a DirecTV/Dish pissing contest, but I seriously doubt that Dish will be the acquirer here, either... DirecTV more than doubles their market cap and assets and is more than 9 times as profitable.

I also think that M&A activity among larger companies will increase, rather than decrease as suggested above. Companies look for synergies, especially in tough times like these, and therefore like to bargain hunt. Bank of America and Countrywide. JP Morgan and Bear Stearns. Your tax dollars and Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac. Okay, that last one was a joke, but you see what I'm getting at.

 

[space86]

I would not like E* and D* to merge.

Right now when you need new equipment you can switch between the two,
if they were to merge you would not have that option.

 

[Stewart Vernon]

Not to turn this into a DirecTV/Dish pissing contest, but I seriously doubt that Dish will be the acquirer here, either... DirecTV more than doubles their market cap and assets and is more than 9 times as profitable.

Unfortunately, that has little to do with how takeovers happen. K-Mart had already filed for bankruptcy when they bought out Sears. I hear semi-routinely about companies that are in bankruptcy somehow managing to buy-out companies that are not in financial troubles... so no reason a smaller company cannot buy a bigger one.

Besides, sometimes a smaller company has more cash in the bank than a bigger one... in which case they are more easily able to orchestrate a buyout.

Stranger things have happened.

That said, I don't believe we'll see this tried any time soon since it was sort-of tried a couple of years ago.

 

[harsh]

I also think that M&A activity among larger companies will increase, rather than decrease as suggested above.

And hopefully so will the anti-monopoly activity of the DOJ.

While I agree with your idea, I hope that reason prevails and some manner of competition remains. It isn't easy to get back what you've lost in a monopoly unless the monopoly self destructs like a certain company in Redmond, Washington seems to be doing lately.

Here's where I see a difference in the business models between DARS and TV: DARS competes typically with non-franchised terrestrial stations whereas DBS competes with carriers who are quite often granted franchises by regional governments.

I think the fact that CATV's hands are often tied by these franchises will be the reason that a DBS merger would not go as well as the politically decided DARS merger went and that means a no go.

 

[Tom Robertson]

Since both companies have shown that both can be profitable simultaneously, DOJ will not approve a merger.

The only thing that might have happened was shared services for locals, but that ship has likely sailed as well.

Cheers,
Tom

 

[tcusta00]

Unfortunately, that has little to do with how takeovers happen. K-Mart had already filed for bankruptcy when they bought out Sears. I hear semi-routinely about companies that are in bankruptcy somehow managing to buy-out companies that are not in financial troubles... so no reason a smaller company cannot buy a bigger one.

Besides, sometimes a smaller company has more cash in the bank than a bigger one... in which case they are more easily able to orchestrate a buyout.

Stranger things have happened.

That said, I don't believe we'll see this tried any time soon since it was sort-of tried a couple of years ago.

KMart and Sears were two companies in a lot of trouble. As far as investment banking is concerned you're comparing apples and oranges. Yes, I'm aware that a smaller company can buy a larger one. However, in this case, it's not going to happen, even if there weren't other extenuating circumstances that make it nigh onto impossible.

 

[hdtvfan0001]

Since both companies have shown that both can be profitable simultaneously, DOJ will not approve a merger.

The only thing that might have happened was shared services for locals, but that ship has likely sailed as well.

Cheers,
Tom

I agree on both counts.

 

[jclewter79]

It might be a good think if they combined their powers just to cover LIL's but, probably won't happen.

 

[Jtaylor1]

No way! If D* & E* merges, I'm buying a digital-to-analog box for my TV.

I would like to see D* go back to Music Choice.

I heard Liberty Media's founder on CNBC says that a merge seems unlikely. I think.

 

[Stuart Sweet]

A story by Reuters. covering the Wall Street Journal, claims:

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - U.S. satellite-TV provider Dish Network Corp (NasdaqGSISH - News) is weighing another attempt to merge with rival DirecTV Group Inc (NasdaqGSTV - News), The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.

Full story: http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/080805/dishnetwork.html?.v=1

 

[477193]

Unfortunately, that has little to do with how takeovers happen. K-Mart had already filed for bankruptcy when they bought out Sears. I hear semi-routinely about companies that are in bankruptcy somehow managing to buy-out companies that are not in financial troubles... so no reason a smaller company cannot buy a bigger one.

Kmart & Sears were both under the control of the same private equity firm when that happened. It was more like a merge. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6509683/

 

[Hansen]

I think these are too big of players in the market for the DOJ to sanction a merger.

As a side note, a lack of competition or reduction in competition caused by a merger is not good. Although some competition would still exist from the cable companies and fiber companies, that competition could be driven out of the market by such a big merger, which is not good for us. Plus, we still want Dish as a satellite provider out there to keep pressure on DirecTV to continuously improve what it offers its customers.

 

[tiger2005]

No way do I see this happening. There are a lot of comparisons between Sirius and XM, but that's an entirely different industry IMO. Radio competition (with iPods, etc.) is huge. TV content providers are few and far between.