AT&T/Dish merger rumors

[mike123abc]

And that's different than how they offer DirecTV in areas w/o U-Verse today ?

It is similar, but if they were merged it would not be a revenue sharing deal. They would have a larger sub base and they would get programming cheaper from the providers by leveraging the combined uverse and dish customers.

 

[Juan]

Impossible, in this case. Vast majority of voting stock is closely held in the Ergen family, and very close friends.

who all may want to retire

 

[DishSubLA]

If Dish is bought by one of the Telcos' it would be for the purpose of acquiring Dish's 14 million + subscribers--not really for the DBS business--providing either AT&T or Verizon with desperately needed critical mass overnight (DirecTV also has great critical mass). Currently, both Telco's are paying the highest rates for channels and they are both subsidizing this cost to be competitive. It would take about FOREVER to achieve sufficient critical mass--Verizon has sold some of their more costly FiOS service areas-- to be able to demand better rates and while they both have deep pockets, it isn't good business to continue the huge subsidy for the next 10 years--if TV is still delivered that way.

Me thinks such rumors are true, but not that it may come to pass, and IMHO it really is about the critical mass.

 

[gqmagic]

To bad it hasn't happened sooner, AT&T knows the meaning of Grandfathering and would never/have never forced anyone out of a plan/package.

 

[mike123abc]

To bad it hasn't happened sooner, AT&T knows the meaning of Grandfathering and would never/have never forced anyone out of a plan/package.

That is because AT&T controls its own costs and it has huge margins. The DBS industry is different. The programming providers control the costs by demanding more money every year regardless of the economic situation of the viewers. AT&T see technological improvements and the cost of providing service declining while DBS see their costs increasing.

All the whining over the loss of Absolute just proves the point that Dish should have raised the package price every year until people dropped off naturally.

 

[navychop]

who all may want to retire

Then it wouldn't be hostile, would it?

 

[dangue]

Then it wouldn't be hostile, would it?

Maybe, maybe not. If those same majority shareholders that want to retire are members of the board, then it would not be hostile. If they weren't members of the board and the board was against the takeover bid, then it would still be hostile. Granted, this is a technicality (and very unlikely in the real world when a small group has majority interest in a company- they would at least elect a board that reflects their wishes for the company), but the possibility still exists.

 

[chicagonettech]

Based on 100+ year old cables, the in-ability of AT&T to keep the service on when it got anywhere near humid, not to mention rained or snowed, and the fact that their servers were constantly re-setting the modem passwords, we just dumped a two-line with internet package and went to Comcast.

A whole lot MORE bandwidth, a whole lot less money, and ZERO service problems.

If AT&T were to purchase Dish, it would be goodbye to both.

Just say NO to AT&T - they are not the same model as the original Bell System of the early 1900s - that went away in 1982 when Judge Green signed the consent decree and will never be around again.

 

[whatchel1]

Based on 100+ year old cables, the in-ability of AT&T to keep the service on when it got anywhere near humid, not to mention rained or snowed, and the fact that their servers were constantly re-setting the modem passwords, we just dumped a two-line with internet package and went to Comcast.

A whole lot MORE bandwidth, a whole lot less money, and ZERO service problems.

Just say NO to AT&T

I just did almost the opposite. I'm in the process of dropping Suddenlink cable i-net for AT&T. Speeds are almost identical here and price is 10 per month less. 6mb or faster cable claim (have chkd & varies from 4.5 to 8 + time of day slow downs) w/ 6 mb for the DSL. Lines for both here are fairly new.

 

[3HaloODST]

I just did almost the opposite. I'm in the process of dropping Suddenlink cable i-net for AT&T. Speeds are almost identical here and price is 10 per month less. 6mb or faster cable claim (have chkd & varies from 4.5 to 8 + time of day slow downs) w/ 6 mb for the DSL. Lines for both here are fairly new.

Yep and here I have AT&T U-verse 24/3 Internet whereas Charter only has 25/2 for at least $10-$15 more a month.

As for the line age, not sure how old my phone lines are but my cable lines are just as old. Cable TV has been around for a long time now. It's not like all the lines get replaced any more often.

 

[renegade734]

Wow ... AT&T taking over Dish Network ... think of all the possibilities:

A fee for how many/what type of dish(es)
A software download fee
A monthly fee for wiring (by the foot)
A roof-acess fee
A fee every time you call Customer Service with questions about billing/service (think Comcast)
A fee for using the sky between the satellites and your dish ...

... The possibilities are absolutely endless. I can hardly wait!

 

[Moman19]

Then the DOJ will decide the company is too large and will force them to divest into smaller, regional satellite companies: Dish Atlantic, Southwestern Dish, AmeriDish, USDish, ....... You get the picture.