DIRECTV Spokesperson, in Response to Malone Comments on Potential Dish Merger, Says Main Focus is to Increase Shareholder Value and Profitably

DirecTV

spokesperson Robert Mercer respoinded in an email to

, to comments made by Liberty Media's

Chairman John Malone recommending a DISH

-DirecTV Merger. Malone was speaking at the Sun Valley Conference: "Speculation about a DIRECTV-Dish marriage has been floating around since the first attempt to merge more than a decade ago and we suspect it won't end anytime soon. But our main focus has been, and always will be, to continue our industry leading growth, increase shareholder value and profitably growing our business." DirecTV shares traded more than 2% higher Thursday at $63.70, while Dish Network shares traded less than 1% higher at $41.99