As reported by Wired News and CNet, amongst many, Echostar, which owns the satellite TV Dish Network, has cancelled its plans to acquire Hughes which owns DirecTV. The merger would have consolidated the only two major players in direct-broadcast satellite TV in the US, so its death is a good thing.
You knew the deal was bad news when even the incredibly merger-friendly FCC chaired by corporate-whore Michael Powell nixed the deal on its end. That rejection was followed by a bonk from the Department of Justice.
However, what is still up in the air is who else might take over DirecTV. A Reuters article points out that last year Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. proposed buying Hughes and combining it into a separate company with its current satellite holdings. News Corp. is a big player in direct broadcast satellite TV in Europe and Asia. Although such a merger would avoid the direct broadcast monopoly, News Corp.–which already owns Fox–is not exactly the ideal player to have in the US satellite market.
Murdoch and co. are famous for putting profit over principle, as when they yanked the BBC from their Asia Sky TV network after complaints from the Chinese government.
Leave a Reply