There could also be an announcement regarding an agreement with either of the cable giants.

EchoStar will continue to explore all possible means to be allowed to compete against the cable giants.

That all but guarantees distribution on many of the systems owned by these cable giants, including several in the New York area.

The cable giant had 11.1 million shares sold short and not covered, up 1.2 million from a month earlier.

As part of the deal, the cable giants will also swap customers in Florida, Texas and elsewhere.

Of late, Comcast dispersed $3,820,000 in green love to various causes dear to the cable giants' heart.

So even after acquiring the cable giant, AT&T would not necessarily have a clear path into the local market for most of the nation's consumers.

Then one or two years later, how much will the cable giant have to spend as supply of addresses gets tighter?

Nearly five years ago, another big phone company, Bell Atlantic, struck a merger agreement with the same cable giant.

Still, even the cable giant, HBO, had a disappointing night.