# Stock Showdown: DirecTV vs. Dish Network



## Athlon646464 (Feb 23, 2007)

Stock Showdown: DirecTV vs. Dish Network

DTV's rumored buy of Hulu appears to widen the gap.....

The action's been heating up at Hulu, as its list of possible suitors grows longer by the day.

According to recent speculation, DirecTV is leading the charge, coveting Hulu's streaming video-on-demand platform. While it's not a done deal by any means, if it were able to complete the acquisition, that would definitely put DTV ahead of Dish Network in the race for satellite supremacy.

On the surface, you'd think this development makes DTV the better stock. But let's not get too hasty. The entire television industry is in a state of flux at the moment; any perceived advantage today might turn out to be a disadvantage tomorrow. Therefore, before crowning DTV the winner, let's take a closer look at both companies and their stocks.

Full Story Here


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

If streaming video had much to do with satellite TV, the argument might have validity.

As it is, they seem to be ignoring the fact that DISH already has what is left of Blockbuster as well as a couple of toes in the water of broadband Internet.

If I'm not mistaken, Hulu Plus has never been a raging success with Netflix still owning nearly 90% of the market and sharing the spoils with Amazon Prime and iTunes -- both non-negligible concerns.


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## lparsons21 (Mar 4, 2006)

As much as I hate myself for doing it, I have to agree with Harsh.

Hulu brings so little to the table that I'm actually surprised that D* is even interested. Minimal share of the streaming market, future licensing of content in serious doubt and a 'business' model that hasn't made good sense from the start.

Heck, it won't even bring enough to the table to get DirecTV Everywhere (or whatever it is called) to being within sniffs distance of Dish Anywhere. That's not to say that DA is perfect either.


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## Stewart Vernon (Jan 7, 2005)

It also brings up something that people on the "cut the cord" plan have been ignoring...

What happens if DirecTV, Dish, Time Warner, etc. etc. decide to start gobbling up Hulu, Netflix, etc... the cord-cutting options would go out the window if those dominoes start to fall.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

Or at least when you cut the cord the satellite companies will still get your money.


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## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

Even if Netflix and Hulu were snatched, there'd be others to fill the gaps. And Apple and Amazon, two who're too big to be bought by any distributor, would do their darnedest to fill the coffers with movies and TV shows.


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## slice1900 (Feb 14, 2013)

Anyone who believes that the media companies will never support a la carte plans because they'd make less money should also assume that at some point they won't renew their relationships with Netflix/Hulu/Amazon/Apple to distribute their content, nor make it available over the Internet themselves. Selling something as a single download (or season of downloads) is the ultimate a la carte plan, after all.

Nobody needs to buy Netflix or Hulu if the Viacoms and Disneys of the world decide not to renew contracts with them at any price. They'll just go bankrupt (or be written off if someone like Directv buys them) and people who counted on those players being there to allow them to cut the cord would find a lot of the content they expected to be able to view only available on cable/satellite.


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