Reuters: $30 Billion Offer Made for Hughes. The offer comes just days before Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp had been expected to finalise a deal with General Motors in a move to make DirecTV and its 10 million subscribers the U.S. component of its Sky Global satellite TV network.
Neither of these companies should be permitted to own Hughes, though Echostar’s record is a lot less ugly.
Echostar would end up with a monopoly on satellite service in the United States if allowed to buy Hughes. That’s plainly unacceptable. The idea that competition from cable and broadcasting would keep the company in line is only partly correct. The competition from another satellite provider has been the customer’s main friend in this market.
Murdoch’s New Corp. should not be allowed to expand its global empire on the backs of the Hughes customers, either. In the pantheon of media robber barons, Murdoch stands out as the absolute worst in all kinds of ways.
An informed citizenry is the backbone of democratic government. Too many of News Corp.’s media outlets are shrines of ignorance and manipulation. Money and power are all that seem to matter to Rupert Murdoch.
Nothing anyone says at this point will probably matter, of course, unless Echostar can derail the other deal. It’s probable that Murdoch, counting on his political pull, will be able to make the deal happen. But don’t imagine that this will be good for anyone but Murdoch and his shareholders.