And thanks to Ergen's legendary deal-making savvy, EchoStar's finances are in better shape than they look.
Ergen can find solace knowing that Murdoch's days of antagonizing him may be coming to end.
Charles Ergen, founder and chairman of DISH Network, was also a winner Monday.
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Now Charlie Ergen (Dish) is about to embark on the tumultuous path that LightSquared is taking.
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It's too early to determine how the case of Mr. Ergen's berm will be resolved.
Mr. Ergen, who lives in Bow Mar but not on the 35-acre parcel, declined to comment.
For now, EchoStar and its multibillionaire Chief Executive Charlie Ergen have control of the remote.
"Ergen knew this deal was a long shot and he negotiated a clever deal, " says Clelend.
"Ergen throws around nickels like manhole covers, " says Clelend, referring to the executive's legendary parsimony.
This round of talks between Ergen and Murdoch may be a part of several possible strategies.
He almost grasped it a year ago, but Ergen stepped in with a richer bid.
Ergen reportedly will offer significant concessions to federal regulators to get them to change their minds.
Ergen has taken a liberal view of the law for years, betting he could win in court.
Just two weeks ago, Mr. Ergen was busy raising a few billion dollars in a debt offering.
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For starters, why does Dish CEO Chalie Ergen want to own a crumbling chain of video stores?
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Ergen has asked the FCC to delay the filing date on submission of objections to this deal.
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Mindful of this objection, Mr Ergen has promised to charge such customers the same price as any others.
Mr Murdoch ended up by selling to Charlie Ergen, for which he got 37% of Mr Ergen's Echostar.
Then Ergen was unable to persuade federal regulators to allow him a monopoly over the U.S. satellite-TV market.
Ergen delivered a solid quarter despite weak economic conditions, and he offered cautious but encouraging guidance for 2002.
But Ergen could afford to bid generously for Hughes because the deal would have given him a monopoly.
But Ergen still must contend with the increased strength of his cable rivals.
We suspect that Ergen is not done with the Clearwire process quite yet.
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Whatever else is going on, Clearwire has gained respect from Ergen and from those clever folks at Google, too.
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That reasoning apparently failed to impress the regulators, so Ergen is casting about for ways to allay their concerns.
Dore disputed the suggestion that Hughes is in a weaker bargaining position now that Ergen is out of the picture.
EchoStar CEO Charles Ergen will meet with U.S. Justice Department officials to discuss the plan, which was submitted last week.
Ergen is no doubt delighted to see that DirecTV continues to be distracted with its now 3-year-old effort to sell itself.
His hiring frees up Charlie Ergen to take a broader view on the business and maybe make some more purchases.
And while broadband may pose a challenge for Ergen at some point, Cleland doesn't see that becoming a problem for years.
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