Spectrum Deal Helps Dish Shares

Comcast and Time Warner Cable may make a hefty profit in their plan to sell 122 wireless communications licenses to Verizon Communications, but the agreement may have another unintended beneficiary -- Dish Network.

Wells Fargo cable and satellite analyst Marci Ryvicker said that the SpectrumCo deal means that Dish's spectrum is worth about $10 billion, or $22 per share. That, she noted, is clearly not included in Dish's current trading price. Dish Network has been on a spectrum acquisition tear in the past year, spending nearly $3 billion to acquire 40 Megahertz of wireless spectrum from two bankrupt providers. In light of SpectrumCo deal, those assets have substantially increased in value.