Charlie Ergen is looking to merge the two halves of his telecom empire, Dish and EchoStar, a deal that would tilt Dish away from a satellite TV business in decline.
Both companies have engaged advisers to sort through what a deal might look like, people familiar with the matter said. A key issue: EchoStar is financially stronger than Dish, which is spending heavily to build out a nationwide mobile network while outrunning the cord-cutting that has gutted its core business.
EchoStar spun out from Dish in 2008, which kept the set-top TV business while shedding the satellite infrastructure that beamed content into them.
The 70-year-old Ergen has long been the industry’s enfant terrible. The rooftop dishes he sold from the back of his truck in the 1980s became a $35 billion thorn in cable’s side. He has meddled in rivals’ deals for decades, sometimes as self-interested supporter (
