News
Malone: DIRECTV/Dish Merger Unlikely
The Liberty Media exec's comments could also rule out Voom deal.
By Swanni
Washington, D.C. (September 29, 2008) -- Liberty Media Chairman John Malone said Friday that any merger between his DIRECTV and rival satcaster Dish Network is far from imminent.
That's according to an article by Multichannel News.
Malone left the door open for a possible merger in a year or so, adding that "anything crazy can happen."
But Malone, whose Liberty Media has a controlling stake in DIRECTV, said the environment is not right to approach the federal government with a merger proposal.
"I don't think it is worth either company's energy or effort to approach the regulatory agencies with that proposal," he said Friday at a company investors meeting.
According to Reuters, Malone said Friday that the recent credit crunch will likely discourage most media companies from seeking deals.
"Certainly, a lot of stocks are cheap, but companies, at least companies in our space, aren't necessarily for sale, based on their stock prices," said Malone, according to Reuters. "Some of these things may prove cheap for an investor for taking a position, but not necessarily strategically are these assets available, particularly in the communications and media space."
Malone's comments could suggest that Liberty Media is no longer interested in buying Rainbow Media, Cablevision's programming arm which owns the 15-channel Voom high-def programming package. Cablevision chief Jim Dolan said recently that the credit crunch could put a Rainbow sale on hold.
Malone: DIRECTV/Dish Merger Unlikely
The Liberty Media exec's comments could also rule out Voom deal.
By Swanni
Washington, D.C. (September 29, 2008) -- Liberty Media Chairman John Malone said Friday that any merger between his DIRECTV and rival satcaster Dish Network is far from imminent.
That's according to an article by Multichannel News.
Malone left the door open for a possible merger in a year or so, adding that "anything crazy can happen."
But Malone, whose Liberty Media has a controlling stake in DIRECTV, said the environment is not right to approach the federal government with a merger proposal.
"I don't think it is worth either company's energy or effort to approach the regulatory agencies with that proposal," he said Friday at a company investors meeting.
According to Reuters, Malone said Friday that the recent credit crunch will likely discourage most media companies from seeking deals.
"Certainly, a lot of stocks are cheap, but companies, at least companies in our space, aren't necessarily for sale, based on their stock prices," said Malone, according to Reuters. "Some of these things may prove cheap for an investor for taking a position, but not necessarily strategically are these assets available, particularly in the communications and media space."
Malone's comments could suggest that Liberty Media is no longer interested in buying Rainbow Media, Cablevision's programming arm which owns the 15-channel Voom high-def programming package. Cablevision chief Jim Dolan said recently that the credit crunch could put a Rainbow sale on hold.
