Dish Network Talking Merger With T-Mobile – Report

[mvcg66b3r]

Three months after Dish Network Chairman Charlie Ergen declared that the next generation will watch TV on mobile devices, his satcaster is talking about a link-up with a big provider of such services. The Wall Street Journal reported tonight (6/3) that Dish is in “formative stage” merger talks with T-Mobile US, the Germany-based telecom giant’s stateside unit that boasts about 57 million subscribers.

WSJ quoted sources as saying Ergen would be chairman of the merged company and that T-Mobile US President and CEO John Legere would be its chief executive. It gave no details on purchase price or terms, though, and noted that a deal might not be worked out. But any pact between the country’s No. 2 satellite TV provider and No. 4 wireless carrier likely would be enormous.

https://deadline.com/2015/06/dish-network-t-mobile-merger-talks-1201437540/

 

[JayR]

What kind of discount would DISH and T-Mobile customers get if they are subscribed to both?

 

[landtuna]

I am a satisfied T-Mobile customer but there isn't a discount large enough to get me to do business with DISH ever again.

 

[umfan]

Dish would be foolish to buy T-Mobile. Duestch Telekom wants out of the US wireless market and has failed twice in trying to merge T-Mobile away, but got a big payout from AT&T for the first attempt. It doesn't have enough scale to compete against AT&T or Verizon, needs a LOT of investment into its network and could only maintain subscriber count through discounting. I'm not saying it won't happen, just that it would be a bad move for Dish.

 

[TheBigA]

Demand for satellite TV has stalled. Consumers like combined services of phone/internet/TV. This merger would move Dish into a more diverse business, which is better for Dish in the long term. However, yes, T-Mobile has had to offer broad discounts to customers in order to get them away from the big two. Combining with a TV service might help profitability.

 

[frankberry]

I believe that the demand for cable and satellite TV is decreasing due to the constantly increasing prices.
In my case, satellite TV is less costly than cable TV. Charter, my local cable company, provides my internet access. Even that keeps increasing in price.

 

[vchimpanzee]

I don't know whether the demand is increasing, but I see a lot of dishes in neighborhoods that are served by cable. I would never have one because I only want a few channels (okay, what I mean is I only want to pay for those) and with cable, reception is nearly always perfect, whereas with a dish, storms can cause the same problems as antennas. Though the last time there was a storm in my area, the station I was watching with an antenna because it's not on cable was perfect.

 

[landtuna]

... I see a lot of dishes in neighborhoods that are served by cable.

HUH? To the best of my knowledge dishes are specific to satellite and cable to....well, cable. The two do not intermix.

 

[PTBoardOp94]

I think VChimp meant that people seem to be buying satellite service even though cable is available in their neighborhood.

 

[landtuna]

I think VChimp meant that people seem to be buying satellite service even though cable is available in their neighborhood.

On second read I can understand that. I thought that Chimp said he lived in an area where the weather affects reception though so you would think cable would prevail.

 

[vchimpanzee]

On second read I can understand that. I thought that Chimp said he lived in an area where the weather affects reception though so you would think cable would prevail.

I am not close enough to the OTA stations to get dependable reception, though an outdoor antenna might change that.

My barber had the satellite go out during a storm, though. It was a pretty bad storm.

My former neighbors, who no longer live around here, say they have a lot of trouble with DirecTV in bad weather, which I assume means ordianry bad weather.

 

[frankberry]

Dish reception can be disturbed by very heavy rain. Not so much by heavy snow (though I do have to brush the snow off my dish on occasion).
I have rabbit ears which allow me to receive some of the regional TV stations during those short periods of time when the satellite signal is blocked by rain.

 

[landtuna]

My former neighbors, who no longer live around here, say they have a lot of trouble with DirecTV in bad weather, which I assume means ordianry bad weather.

We have had DISH and DirecTV in years past and only in the worst of storms did they pixelate or drop out. It was usually very heavy dust storms or big raindrops. Surprisingly, the time of year when the sun is directly behind the sats also puts them out of service for several minutes.

 

[tripinva]

My former neighbors, who no longer live around here, say they have a lot of trouble with DirecTV in bad weather, which I assume means ordianry bad weather.

If the dish wasn't installed properly and is somewhat out of alignment, it will be more sensitive to weather than if it's installed properly and aligned 100%.

- Trip