Out Fox The $treet

Seeking Alpha provided this snippet where the T-Mobile (TMUS)/Sprint (S) merger is on hold again. T-Mobile ( TMUS   -1.9% ) and Sprint ( S   -3.6% ) are sliding off a new  Wall Street Journal  report that  merger talks have slowed , over conditions around the involvement of Dish Network ( DISH   +0.5% ) in the deal. Talks are ongoing, but the two wireless carriers are planning to extend their merger agreement beyond its July 29 deadline to buy more time, according to the report -- a second extension of a deal that has dragged out more than a year. A big part of the merger holdup is the requirement of the DOJ for a 4th viable wireless carrier to exist. For this reason, my prediction has long held that the merger will get blocked. Dish doesn't appear ready to step-up to the plate without major handouts and T-Mobile doesn't want the merger, if the end result is to create a strong 4th competitor. The prediction still remains that the merger gets blocke...

Summary DISH Network begins offering limited pay-TV services online. The satellite TV operator has a first mover advantage, but the service doesn't appear to offer anything proprietary that couldn't be replicated or enhanced. Content providers with the best content will benefit the most from these scaled-down online packages that feature only top channels such as ESPN and TNT. DISH Network (NASDAQ: DISH ) made the interesting announcement last week that it is joining the over-the-top revolution for pay-TV services. The company follows recent announcements by Time Warner's (NYSE: TWX ) HBO and CBS (NYSE: CBS ) to offer subscription services online to compete with Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX ) due to the increasing amount of consumers that are cutting the cord. Read the full article at Seeking Alpha. Disclosure: Long TWX. Please review the disclaimer page for more details. 

With the recent buyouts in the video subscriber area, DISH Network ( NASDAQ: DISH     ) becomes a speculative target for other cable and wireless network operators. The second-largest satellite provider offers investors a large subscriber base of 14.1 million and a unique asset, assuming DirecTV ( NASDAQ: DTV     ) consummates the merger with AT&T ( NYSE: T     ) . At the same time, DISH faces tougher competition going forward from a DirecTV, now backed by the bigger AT&T that offers the potential triple play of pay TV, broadband, and wireless services. DISH Network offers a unique asset to the market, whether via an acquisition from a major cable operator or a wireless provider such as Verizon ( NYSE: VZ     ) . In a lot of cases, the integration of a major competitor can leave the independent provider with an advantage of being focused on the target market. Unfortunately, a potential acquirer must overcome some hurdl...