A Brief History of the Merger
The idea of a merger between DirecTV and Dish dates back to 2002, when EchoStar attempted to buy DirecTV from its then-owner Hughes electronics corporation. However, the deal was blocked by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ), which argued that the merger would create a TV monopoly in parts of the country where cable television wasn't available. At the time, EchoStar had approximately 7.5 million subscribers, while DirecTV had 10.9 million subscribers.