Dish CEO: "Overall AT&T And DIRECTV Combined Will Be A Much Tougher Competition'

With the merger of AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) and DIRECTV (NASDAQ: DTV) soon to be a reality. DIRECTV’s biggest competitor DISH Network Corp (NASDAQ: DISH) Chairman & CEO, Charlie Ergen, was on CNBC Thursday to opine on the deal.

The Deal Makes Sense

“I think they (AT&T) get scale and video and video is going to be a big part of what they do on their wireless networks,” Ergen said. “They get an international business in Latin America, where they probably will come follow that on with wireless and certainly in Mexico they have already made a move there.”

“So, I think it does make sense…Of course for everything you do, there is typical reactions to that and [depending] on how other competitors react to that will really depend on how well that deal shakes out.”

Tougher Competition

Ergen was asked if AT&T and DIRECTV will be a tough competition. He replied, “I think they will be a tougher competitor. There will be some dislocation from here and there, but I think overall they will be much tougher competition.”

“Because they have scale, they are going to be the largest [ENVPD], they have got broadband in large parts of the country and they got a nationwide wireless network so they have fundamentally got the core ingredients that they are going to need.”

Sling TV

On the importance of Sling TV to Dish Ergen said, “I think it is pretty important. I think if you want to get a lot of the new people who aren’t paying for TV today…You are going to waste your marketing dollars to try to go after them for the big bundle. So you got to go with what they know, what they like.”