[Uncle Peter]

I am wondering if the Merger between Directv and Dish Network will ever happen? and if it does, when?

 

[Neil Derryberry]

Welcome, Uncle Peter!

Don't look for anything until the fall, I bet. We all have our own speculation about it... I'm thinking it will happen myself.

 

[Chuck W]

The way it stands now, I doubt it. I really thing the FTC will end up saying no.

 

[bogi]

I hope not but money talks

 

[cnsf]

As much as my heart thinks it will happen, my head says it shouldn't.

My guess is that Charlie wouldn't be going balls out on this and putting all his eggs in one basket if he didn't have some other info indicating it will happen.

 

[Chris Freeland]

I think it will happen but with conditions. Likely conditions:
1. Give up some or all bandwidth at wing locations (61.5 and 148), to make room for possible future DBS competition.
2. Some sort of national pricing guarantees.
3. A guarantee that all 210 local DMA's will be carried with in, 2 or 3 years of completion of the merger.

 

[cnsf]

You may also have anti-anti-trust demands regarding negotiation tactics and arbitration (e.g. ABC Family, YES, etc.)

 

[Karl Foster]

I wrote a letter to my Senator regarding the merger, and I got a response back from his saying that the chief concern the Senate has is the lack of satellite slots if the merger is approved.

Personal opinion - I hope it doesn't, but it probably will. I think if it does, we could see some degredation of service. No competition = bad service. Think your local phone company or electric company.

 

[bryan27]

Originally posted by karl_f
No competition = bad service. Think your local phone company or electric company.

My phone company is the best I ever had, but then again we have competition. There is nothing nicer than walking into the locally owned competing phone company office or calling them with a local mumber and being greeted by name, rather than call some 800 number to who knows where to someone that doesn't know you from anyone else

 

[Richard King]

I think that as of today, with the way the market is treating both stocks, that the merger is officially over with and that GM will back out and pay the back out fee. Up until a few days ago I thought the only chance of it not happening was government refusal, now I think it will be GM and GMH refusal. If GMH backs out they have to pay Dish $600,000,000. This might be a good move on their part considering market conditions at the moment (especially today).

 

[Rob]

GM might not have 600,000,000. maybe not even 6000
http://biz.yahoo.com/rc/020627/autos_gm_1.html

 

[HarryD]

I hope not! I like choice.

 

[Jacob S]

Choice is good but would there be a better chance for competition with or without a merger?

 

[gopherscot]

Yes ... I hope it does ... and yes I like the choice of having sports packages and superstations without having two different services. I consider cable as the biggest competition to either service so I like the joining together to better both. There are some concerns for rural people but I suspect dish will have to address pricing on a national basis to keep pricing in line!

 

[zuma hans]

No. It will not be approved.

Not even this administration would okay it - particularly in the light of the public's opinion about EnronQwestMarthaStewartTycoGlobalCrossingXeroxYourNameHereArthurAndersonThisSpaceForRent .

 

[Mike]

Who's to say there will be supers if there is a merger? How about sports packages? Right now, DirecTV still doesn't know how to program their sports packages correctly (particularly MLB). Charlie doesn't like sports at all. The sports he's able to get has OTA feeds in it which is a great plus and fantastic if he can talk MLB into adding those feeds into the package, but I still don't want the merger. Just too much Charlie hating sports. FSN 2 for years and now YES are more examples. Competition is better. You used to be able to buy c-band programming from different sources like Programmers Clearing House and Turnervision, but now those companies and others have merged together or folded and the pricing isn't as cheap as it used to be with more companies. I'm totally against the merger. Bad bad bad bad move for the consumers.

 

[Karl Foster]

Mike - I couldn't agree more. I'm venturing to guess that most of us that have DBS have it because we got fed up with our local cable companies (mine was Insight, then TCI, then AT&T and I haven't moved in nine years). With them having a monopoly, our service continued to go down, down, down until AT&T forced everyone to go digital if they wanted anything besides very basic service. The problem was they didn't offer digital in our neighborhood.

What's to keep the mega-DBS company from sinking down the monopoly service hole?

If E* subs want the sports packages so bad, they have an option now. If your DBS provider doesn't give you what you want - change. If the merger happens, that option is gone, and we as consumers lose.

 

[Rage]

I'm against the merger.

 

[Richard King]

Charlie doesn't like sports at all.

On what do you (and others who keep making this claim) base this statement?

 

[Rage]

No pro sports packages available for one, Rking.