DirecTV, Dish team up for b'band

June 15, 2007 Wall Street chatter about a merger of DirecTV Group and EchoStar Communications resurfaced Thursday as the satellite TV giants struck a wireless broadband service deal with an up-and-coming provider and a report suggested that EchoStar and future DirecTV parent Liberty Media could make a joint acquisition. First, the companies expanded their options for offering broadband Internet services at home and on the go, unveiling Thursday a product-bundling deal with Clearwire Corp., a provider of wireless high-speed Web services and telephony via the nascent WiMax technology. The news comes at a time when cable operators have been successful at retaining and growing subscribers with product bundles.

Subscribe to the Hollywood Reporter and see the entertainment industry from its best angle: the inside looking out. Complete access to real-time news and exclusive analysis that goes behind the scenes from film to television, home video to digital media.

   Subscribe now.