DISQUS

Adam Thierer · 1 year ago

Ryan... Your boss and I had a little to something to say about this issue way back in 2001 in a piece we penned at Cato together: "The EchoStar-DirecTV Merger: Antitrust Folly Reaches Outer Space." As you point out, the only thing that has changed since then is that the video marketplace has grown even more rabidly competitive, with a cornucopia of choices for consumers.

And yet the same old silly arguments made in opposition to the the deal back then will be trotted out once again. Frankly, I'm shocked EchoStar has even made it this long on their own. But there is no way in hell they are going to be able to make another 5 years without partnering with somebody. And this sort of a merger makes a lot of sense for them, and consumers. A bigger satellite TV operator could eliminate redundancy and redeploy more and better services with its spectrum to compete against the cable and telco video giants, as well as all that Internet-based competition.

Ryan Radia · 1 year ago

Thanks for the link to the TechKnowledge piece. Mr. Crews mentioned it to me this morning, but I wasn't able to locate it on Cato's website. You guys nailed it seven years ago, predicting the future would be fueled by "wireless airwaves and fiber breakthroughs" along with a "peer-to-peer computing revolution" that "promises to make a broadcaster out of everyone." If only the FCC had listened.

Skip Oliva · 1 year ago

There's definitely an aggressive sect of the antitrust community that would jump on any new media merger at this point. The FTC in particular has been trying to rewrite the "rules" of merger review to enable intervention in the narrowest of "markets." The DOJ has been more cautious in recent years, but that will change come January with the next administration (regardless of whether it's McCain or Obama.)

Jim · 1 year ago

As long as satellite tv is cheaper than cable... big Comc@st seems to do nothing but raise rates for the same old programming in every area they have taken over. It will be interesting to see what happens with the FCC considering the changing of the guard in the oval office.

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