Frankfort – Kentucky has joined a suit to block the merger of two of the country's only nationwide providers of direct broadcast satellite television. The antitrust suit says the merger of Dish Network and Direct TV would kill competition for direct satellite broadcasting. Attorney Ben Chandler says it would hurt Kentucky because more than a third of the households have no access to cable.
The antitrust suit targets the parent companies - Echostar Communications, which offers service through Dish Network, and Hughes Electronic Corporation, which owns Direct TV. Twenty-three states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Department of Justice filed the suit yesterday in Washington.