Dish Network and DirecTV might have a better chance to merge today than when regulators struck down a deal almost a decade ago, according to newly appointed Dish chief executive Joseph Clayton.
“I don’t discount any possibility,” Clayton told Bloomberg Television on Friday. “It’s probably easier from a regulatory environment today than it was five to 10 years ago, when it was originally proposed. We’re looking at anything that will help enhance shareholder value.”
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission rejected a combination between Douglas County-based-based Dish and DirecTV in 2002, saying the merger would harm consumers. Since then, the expansion of Internet video and TV distribution from telecom companies AT&T and Verizon has increased the availability of pay-TV beyond satellite and cable.
