Now that the satellite radio merger between Sirius and XM is nearly a done deal, satellite tv competitors Dish Network (13 million customers) and DirectTV (16.32 million subscribers), are weighing another attempt to merge, says The Wall Street Journal (on-line edition).
No formal proposal has been made, notes Reuters, but Dish executives and DirecTV representatives have had general discussions about the idea in recent months, the newspaper reported.
On Monday Dish reported a loss in subscribers, which may prompt the company to consider “a major strategic shift” that could involve reviving attempts to combine with DirecTV, the newspaper said.
The two satellite broadcasters attempted a deal in 2001, when Dish tried to acquire DirecTV’s then-owner Hughes, but the efforts were abandoned due to regulatory opposition.
Dish Chairman and Chief Executive Charles Ergen thinks the regulatory and competitive environment may be more receptive for a Dish-DirecTV deal now.
Dish stock fell 3.6% Monday after the company said it lost 25,000 subscribers in the quarter, short of expectations. A year ago, Dish added 170,000 subscribers in the second quarter.
Digital TV penetration rates in Western Europe exceeded 50 percent at the end of last year, and will total 104 million households by the end of 2008, according to Informa Telecoms & Media.
The 12th edition of Informa’s Western Europe TV shows digital terrestrial TV should exceed cable by 2011. Cable’s base is also being eroded by satellite TV, and by IPTV provided by telcos or Internet Service Providers.
Germany will move into the lead in digital deployment over all other Western Europe countries, growing from 15.3 million households with digital TV in 2007 to 30.4 million in 2013. France, currently in second place with 18 million households, will retain that position with 26.9 million in 2013. The UK, in the lead at the end of 2007 with 22.3 million households, will slip to third by 2013, with 26.46 million households.
Related Space and Satellite articles on Dailywireless include Dish TV Gets Lucky, Dish Network Testing DVB-SH , Blue Sky for Satellite Broadband?Galaxy 18 Cable Sat Launched, ICO Deploys 40 Foot Antenna, AMC-14: Not Dead Yet, Dish Network Testing DVB-SH, AMC-14: Killed by Lawyers?.
