EchoStar May Drop Hughes Deal Jan. 21

MEDIA

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EchoStar Communications Corp. probably will abandon its proposed $16-billion acquisition of Hughes Electronics Corp., parent of satellite TV provider DirecTV, if the deal is not approved by regulators by Jan. 21, DirecTV’s chief executive said.

“If there is no approval by Jan. 21, it is a fair assumption we would go our separate ways,” CEO Eddy Hartenstein said.

The deal would combine the two top satellite TV services in the United States. Critics have complained that the combination would stymie competition.

Cablevision Systems Corp. has proposed that the combined Hughes-EchoStar sell some of its capacity to Cablevision, which plans to launch a satellite service next year. But regulators fear that Cablevision lacks the resources.

In a new possible hitch, a religious broadcaster has notified regulators that it owns six of the 17 satellite channels sought by Cablevision. EchoStar subleases the six channels from Naples, Fla.-based Dominion Video Satellite Inc.