Dish Network chairman Charlie Ergen says that a merger between Dish and DirecTV is “inevitable” with comments suggesting that a merger could happen at any time.
“Yeah, I mean, I still think DISH and DIRECTV will be inevitable. Could that be a month from now or 10 years from now? That I don’t know,” Ergen said in a conference call with industry analysts.
A potential merger has been on the radar for the companies for some time. Back in February, Ergen also used the word “inevitable” in the company’s quarter 4 earnings call, saying that a merger would make sense as the two companies adjusted to the changing market.
In September 2019, MoffettNathanson analysts said that if a merger were proposed, it would likely be approved.
“Satellite TV was growing by leaps and bounds at the time. Now it is in free fall. That alone may be enough to settle the debate; sure, two would be better than one, but both are credible bankruptcy risks on their own. Heck, they’d be a credible bankruptcy risk even together. Simply preserving an option for rural America at all would be the argument. And it would be a reasonably persuasive one,” wrote Moffet.
With DirecTV continuing to lose subscribers and AT&T executives admitting that streaming should be a focus moving forward, a merger could be the best option. While AT&T denied that plans for a merger were on the table in the past, Ergen’s recent comments could be Dish’s way of starting that conversation back up publicly.
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