AT&T again talking to E?

[broadcasttheworld]

[FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']I'm hearing again that AT&T and E have resurrected the talks of doing a possible acquisition. [/FONT]

[FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']Anyone else hearing anything on this?[/FONT]

 

[Rey]

IF that happens we're gonna have to get the hell out of dodge!

 

[Cyclone]

We all know its going to happen one day. That's why Charlie spun off Dish from Echostar. That way, he can sell Dish to at&t, but still keep his familar hardware to use for another DBS service. Like that one mentioned to cater to Apartment, Condo, and HOA customers.

Plus he can also leverage the TR-50 with IPTV as a cheap alternative to dbs/cable.


They way I see it, you make big $$$ on growth. Since Dish has nearly reach all the homes it can sell too (ie it has nearly all of the DMAs covered), its growth is about to plateau. So Charlie will want to bail on Dish before this happens. Then he takes his Ca$h and starts a "new" dbs company that is in a different market that Dish. He starts this up and gets to grow a new company. Plus since he still has Echostar, he doesn't have to worry about hardware from external owners. But thats just my thoughts.

 

[Slamminc11]

I thought it was 18 months after they both bid on the open spectrum. I know it hasn't been that long already.

 

[navychop]

I doubt AT&T would buy Dish without Charlie signing a non-compete agreement. He won't be opening another DBS, unless it's very restricted like you mentioned. I'd be surprised if AT&T even went for that.

I suspect the satcos have many good years ahead of them, and plenty of growth. Uverse falls short. Fios is expanding at a snail's pace, and seems oblivious to the need to pamper their higher end customers with high end HD DVRs. IPTV, especially for HD, has a long row to hoe, to get to a point where a substantial portion of the population has high speed broadband. And the willingness to learn another delivery method. They need to make it as simple as a cable box. I suspect they will. But delivery speeds will be a problem for many years to come.

I wouldn't mind AT&T buying Dish. But it would be kinda weird, not having Charlie Chats anymore. And our little SatGuys Chats would have to find a new basis.

 

[Tyralak]

Great. So now AT&T can take over Dish, cock it up, realize they can't run it, then break it up and sell it off piece by piece. Just like they did with TCI. "All this has happened before, and all this will happen again."

 

[Zero327]

Great. So now AT&T can take over Dish, cock it up, realize they can't run it, then break it up and sell it off piece by piece. Just like they did with TCI. "All this has happened before, and all this will happen again."

Ever notice every time someone uses that quote the next scene is someone getting blown up, shot or otherwise smashed dead?

DISH doesn't need running, it needs a real parent company and board of directors who aren't wimpering children. One that knows when to spend money, and when to tell someone "well I've given you $400 in credits, two receivers and a free movers in the last six months, you can go to hell now." You know, common sense... the opposite of Chuck.

 

[Mr Tony]

yeah....like AT&T doesn't do that right now

 

[navychop]

DISH doesn't need running, it needs a real parent company and board of directors who aren't wimpering children. One that knows when to spend money, and when to tell someone "well I've given you $400 in credits, two receivers and a free movers in the last six months, you can go to hell now." You know, common sense... the opposite of Chuck.

Although I agree with the first part, let's remember- "Chuck" started out selling BUDs from the back of his pickup truck. I'm not even sure it was his truck. And now- filthy rich beyond our wildest imaginings. He's certainly had some pretty good sense.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

Its funny when Dish doesnt have any real news going on this rumor seems to come out with no substance, yet Dish's stock price always seems to go up.

I am just wondering where this rumor is coming from.

 

[DishSubLA]

Chuck will probably only sell if another media company merger occurs, such as the failed Disney/Comcast, I believe. He was very clear at that time that if that merger occured, he would have no choice but to sell Dish because he said there was no way he could compete. Chuck is still in the saddle because there haven't been any mega media mergers since. The recent Sirius/XM is limited only to sat radio.

 

[Derwin0]

Great. So now AT&T can take over Dish, cock it up, realize they can't run it, then break it up and sell it off piece by piece. Just like they did with TCI. "All this has happened before, and all this will happen again."

Except that this isn't the AT&T that bought out TCI. This is SBC who bought out AT&T and renamed themselves at&t. Completely different company.

 

[Wrangler3383]

Except that this isn't the AT&T that bought out TCI. This is SBC who bought out AT&T and renamed themselves at&t. Completely different company.

Well I'm glad someone said it. I'm sick of explaining to people online, the time line of the AT&T brand. Honestly though, I can see this happening. It would give AT&T a full fledged advanced TV solution. Dish's infrastructure coupled with Homezone along with U-verse would give AT&T the ability to sell TV to almost everyone. Even in places where basic DSL hasn't hit yet.

 

[Mr Tony]

Except that this isn't the AT&T that bought out TCI. This is SBC who bought out AT&T and renamed themselves at&t. Completely different company.

Actually its SBC that bought out AT&T then merged with Bell South and renamed itself AT&T again and decided to change Cingular name to AT&T (legal name AT&T Mobility)

 

[eckertman]

Except that this isn't the AT&T that bought out TCI. This is SBC who bought out AT&T and renamed themselves at&t. Completely different company.

I remember that. That was when I eventualy got digital from them for real cheap. Then something happened with the service and now I have dish.

 

[Tyralak]

Ever notice every time someone uses that quote the next scene is someone getting blown up, shot or otherwise smashed dead?

DISH doesn't need running, it needs a real parent company and board of directors who aren't wimpering children. One that knows when to spend money, and when to tell someone "well I've given you $400 in credits, two receivers and a free movers in the last six months, you can go to hell now." You know, common sense... the opposite of Chuck.

You actually think AT&T will run this company better than it already is? You're either living in a dream world, or don't live in a part of the country serviced by AT&T, and/or don't remember the AT&T/TCI debacle.

 

[Tyralak]

Actually its SBC that bought out AT&T then merged with Bell South and renamed itself AT&T again and decided to change Cingular name to AT&T (legal name AT&T Mobility)

Exactly. It's the same damn company in different incarnations.

 

[Tyralak]

I remember that. That was when I eventualy got digital from them for real cheap. Then something happened with the service and now I have dish.

Yep. They overextended, realized they couldn't run a cable company profitably, and sold everything off to Comcast.

 

[rad]

This story at AT&T Demands Payment On $500 Million DISH Note; So Does This Mean No Deal? - washingtonpost.com makes it sound like no merger and that AT&T might even go with DirecTV as their partner.

 

[broadcasttheworld]

This story at AT&T Demands Payment On $500 Million DISH Note; So Does This Mean No Deal? - washingtonpost.com makes it sound like no merger and that AT&T might even go with DirecTV as their partner.

[FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']AT&T Demands Payment On $500 Million DISH Note... - paidContent.org [/FONT]
[FONT='Arial','sans-serif']Given the old rumors that AT&T might eventually acquire DISH, this filing after the bell should've jumped out a little more? In it, DISH says ATT is requiring it to pay back a $500 million note due July 2010. The note would have converted to DISH shares at $60.25, but with those shares currently trading at $33.02, AT&T isn't waiting around. Bernstein Analyst Craig Moffett says the $500 million note was first acquired in 2003, as part of AT&T's strategic resale agreement with DISH (then EchoStar). There's been some lingering speculation that AT&T could buy Dish outright, but Moffett suspects this is the final nail in that coffin. What's more, this could indicate that any strategic relationship is on the way out too. The winner: DISH rival DirecTV... AT&T Demands Payment On $500 Million DISH Note; So Does This Mean No Deal? - washingtonpost.com[back to top][/FONT]