Past Mistakes Led to Something Better for Echostar's Dish Network
The greatest achievements are rarely accomplished without error. The best lessons are often learned from past failures and these instances should not be regretted. Certainly, Echostar is not exempt from this, but any letdown it had experienced in the past had only served to make the company stronger and more committed to offering the best to their customers.
A Potentially Powerful Merger
The name “Rupert Murdock” is known in all business circles for many reasons. The billionaire is of course commonly associated with its highly successful media empire News Corp. The company was not new to the satellite TV industry. It already enjoyed several successful DTH ventures in Europe, all of which operated under the SKY brand name. But News Corp. wanted to expand its market to North America and expressed interest in merging with Echostar, having seen the latter’s commendable achievements.
A potential merger with the powerful News Corp. was great news for Echostar and Dish Network. The merger was yet another way of upholding the company’s vision and if it did come through, it would also give the company sufficient financial resources not only to maintain operations but the possibility of launching new satellites as well.
Echostar and Dish Network finally announced the possibility of a merger with News Corp in February 1997. MCI, which had recently acquired another satellite location (110° W.L.), was also announced to be another partner in the merger.
The merger, which was tagged at $1 Billion, would give Echostar the opportunity to provide its subscribers access more than five hundred (500) channels – a feat that no other satellite TV company had yet been able to offer. Such a variety of channels had long been promised by cable TV companies but was never realized. If, however, the merger would push through then Dish Network would be the first to make good on this promise.
Obstacles
What sounded very good on paper fell through for various reasons. Ultimately, management dispute prevented the successful conclusion of the merger and the projected union was permanently shelved soon after. The failed merger, however, did lead to something better: Echostar was able to acquire a new satellite orbital location from MCI, which allowed them to further expand their channel selection. It may not be the huge leap that Echostar envisioned, but it was still a crucial step that took them closer to their vision.
In 2002, Dish Network made another ambitious move by attempting a takeover of Hughes Electronics, the company that owned its primary competitor, DIRECTV. The move, however, was ultimately blocked by the government in fear of monopoly abuse. Later on, News Corp. succeeded in acquiring Hughes Electronic, thus giving them their long-desired ccess to satellite TV business in North America.
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DIRECTV transmits digital satellite signals to households across the United States as well as Latin America. For subscribers in Alabama & Hawaii, these subscribers must maintain a different type of satellite dish.
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