Beware Liberty-DirecTV

ECHOSTAR: BEWARE LIBERTY-DIRECTV
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Linda Moss]
EchoStar Communications warned federal regulators to be wary about John Malone’s plan to re-establish Liberty Media’s “market power,” in terms of programming clout, by purchasing News Corp.’s stake in DirecTV, the nation’s largest direct-broadcast satellite provider. EchoStar, the No. 2 DBS company, filed a petition last Friday asking the Federal Communications Commission to deny approval of Liberty’s $11 billion purchase of News Corp.’s 39% ownership of DirecTV unless there are commitments “to ensure that consumers and the programming market are not adversely affected.” EchoStar cited the kind of tactics it alleged Liberty was able to engage in the past in when it benefited from an association with another distribution outlet -- namely Malone’s then-cable company, Tele-Communications Inc. EchoStar claimed that “it is well-established that TCI and Liberty operated ruthlessly in acquiring and creating programming and in its treatment of unaffiliated MVPDs [multichannel-video-programming distributors] and programmers.”
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6427946.html?display=Breaking+News

See also --
* NCTC Weighs In on Liberty-DirecTV
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Linda Moss]
News Corp. shouldn't be allowed to “escape” its obligation to abide by binding arbitration for its regional sports networks after it divests its ownership in DirecTV, the National Cable Television Cooperative told federal regulators. The NCTC told the Federal Communications Commission it should continue to enforce certain restraints -- including submitting to arbitration for some programming disputes -- it imposed on News Corp. back in 2003 in approving its acquisition of a major stake in DirecTV. http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6427693.html?display=Breaking+News