Why Dish, T-Mobile Merger Makes All the Sense in the World

[Commentary] The reported merger between satellite pay-TV provider Dish and telecommunications company T-Mobile US -- said to be in talks -- is soon to be official, Meridian Advisory Group (MAG) Managing Partner Shahid Khan said. And Khan expects the company combination to fly through the customary regulatory review. Why does this apparently imminent deal make sense for Dish anyway?

Well, for starters, the satellite provider’s numbers have been slowing down as of late, Khan pointed out. The company also needs to get with the times if it wants to complete with the evolving “quadruple play” expectations, which tacks on consumer cellular service to the popular “triple play”: home phone, television and Internet combination. Currently, there’s a clear lacking on Dish’s end. “Cable today is two-way communication … Satellite is predominantly one-way,” Khan explained, calling such a deal “crucial to Dish’s survival.” Also, it’s always safer -- though clearly not cheaper -- to buy into an established company than launch a new one from scratch. Dish had just two options to catch up, as Khan sees it -- Sprint or T-Mobile -- and this proposed merger is the better match. “A combined Dish/T-Mobile will be able to offer consumers a superior nationwide network, strong set of video content offerings, and better bundles,” he said. Plus, the merger has a hidden competitive benefit: “Had Dish not gone after T-Mobile, Comcast might have,” Khan said, characterizing T-Mobile as a missed opportunity for the more massive cable company.