Posted on 07/20/2006 2:28:12 PM PDT by HAL9000
Shares of America’s #2 satellite television provider, EchoStar Communications, have hit 17-month highs in recent days amid speculation that leading rival, DirecTV Group Inc., could try to purchase the company.Such a merger would likely face regulatory and antitrust hurdles, but many analysts believe that these problems would be relatively easy to overcome. After all, the combined entity could be a strong competitor in the triple play communications industry, now increasingly polarized between cable and telecom carriers.
The decision to merge with DirecTV would rest solely with Charlie Ergen, EchoStar’s Chairman, CEO, and co-founder, who currently controls more than 90% of the company’s voting shares.
“Charlie has three choices. He can be acquired by DirecTV (or) AT&T or do a leveraged buyout and take the company private,” commented Kaufman Bros. analyst, Todd Mitchell, in a recent interview. “If he takes the company private, he still hasn’t done anything about his competitive position.”
In recent years, EchoStar has been on a slow but steady decline, unable to attract enough new customers to maintain financial sustainability. It is becoming increasingly clear to analysts that EchoStar will have a hard time staying both independent and profitable in this highly competitive and volatile industry.
I also installed a pole in the ground for the DirecTV dish. When a winter storm hits and the dish ices over, I can get it de-iced with a pitcher of warm water. That works a lot better than putting the dish on the roof.
I thought Echostar (DiSH) was all set to buy DirecTV a few years ago, but the deal fell through because it didn't clear those "regulatory and antitrust hurdles".
Why should this deal be any different? BTW, I've been a satisfied DiSH customer form many years. If Charlie sells, and quality declines, and rates go up, I'll switch to cable, and get a 1-year special for switching back.
The problem we have is that DirecTV hasn't re-upped with the TiVo people, and the new MPEG4 HD PVRs that are coming from DirecTV won't be TiVos.
I'll probably be able to figure out a new interface, but I'm not sure the wife will.
The dish is right outside my bedroom window, so it kinda works the same for me :)
Besides, most of the storms through here are all snow, because they generally throw a bunch of ice into columbus.
They had installed a grounding block on the side of my house and it seriously looked horrible. What we did is we took the coax straight down into the ground (we installed a 2 foot L-section of PVC in the ground and ran it behind the wall in my rec room into the basement, where we then wired everything from the ground up.
Works great.
That, and in my area Direct TV subscriptions are controlled by the local telephone co-op. Apparently, they have a master agreement with Direct TV. I had one of the first Direct TV dishes way back when, but after numerous billing issues, like being charged for multiple movie rentals when I was out of the country for 3 months, I switched to Dish Network. Never had a problem with billing since.
Love Dish with DVR. Recorded whole season of 24. Cable companies can bl0w me.
>>The problem we have is that DirecTV hasn't re-upped with the TiVo people, and the new MPEG4 HD PVRs that are coming from DirecTV won't be TiVos.
I'll probably be able to figure out a new interface, but I'm not sure the wife will.<<
A DirecTV rep last week told me they have a large stock of the Tivo powered units if you ask for real Tivo instead.
Whatever happened to anti-trust laws? Isn't this sort of thing exactly why they were created in the first place?
Or is there another satellite broadcast service that I haven't heard about?
NFL Channel is ok, but for the first time in my life I'm going to see the Patriots entire schedule. That was worth the switch to me.
If you have ice storms, consider installing a short pole for mounting your dish on the ground instead of the roof, as I mentioned in the previous post. If the installer puts your dish on the roof, you may lose reception if your dish gets covered in sleet and ice. The ground-level dish can be easily de-iced with a pitcher of warm water.
If you do install your own pole, you may need to do some research to make sure it is installed where satellite reception will be available. You may have to aim through a bunch of trees like I did, which could be tricky. I used a good compass to find a location with the best angles. Check the Dish Network/DirecTV web sites to get the azimuth/elevation angles for your location. Then you need a bag of Quik-rete and a fence post level to set it straight. Also, try to make sure that the installer grounds the dish grounded properly. Most installers don't bother with that.
If your satellite provider doesn't carry your local channels, you will need a separate antenna for local broadcast stations. There is a special type of splitter called a "Diplexer" (available at Lowes) that can combine your satellite cable and your antenna cable into a single cable.
If you live in a storm-prone area, be sure to install antenna lighting arrestors and surge protectors.
I don't know what is different, regulatory-wise, but the buy-out is reversed this time. I've had Echostar and DirecTV; happy with DirecTV right now.
IIRC, there was a bidding war for buying DirecTV from Hughes, and Murdoch beat Ergin.
Thanks. I'm more curious about the reception quality. I'm in South Texas, so ixnay on the sleet and ice ;)
What rocks about it? The crappy compression artifacted picture?
DISH has their own DVR that can record 2 things at once, and can run 2 TVs off of the same box. I've tried TiVo and I like DISH's DVR better. I hope Charlie doesn't give in; I cannot stand the thought of having to switch to Tivo!
I agree. After two months, I can't imagine why anyone would stay with cable which, around here (Comcast), is much more expensive.
Works just fine for me.
well it is, until your wife orders about 20 movies :)...
GRRRRRRRRRR :)
>>DISH has their own DVR that can record 2 things at once, and can run 2 TVs off of the same box. I've tried TiVo and I like DISH's DVR better. I hope Charlie doesn't give in; I cannot stand the thought of having to switch to Tivo!<<
I respect your right to prefer Dish but the way Tivo find programs I like based on what I watch and how I rate things and the way it finds a scheduled program even if it moves to another night or a different channel and a dozen other little patented things make me prefer the Tivo.
I always wondered why nobody ever developed a dish heater. Mine is on the roof, but I can reach it from an upper deck off my master bathroom. I have had it ice up many times here on the mountain in SE Tennessee, but I can deice it using a hair dryer duct taped onto a broomstick.....necessity is the mother of invention, after all.....
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