EchoStar to Buy VOOM Programming?

EchoStar may be keen to buy VOOM's 21 HD channels in addition to its Rainbow-1 satellite, according to CEO Charlie Ergen. The head of the DISH Network said this week that his company is debating whether or not to acquire the VOOM 21 that is currently operated by Cablevision subsidiary Rainbow DBS. According to the Long Island Business News and the Sky Report, Ergen made the comments during his monthly "Charlie Chat" broadcast on the DISH Network.

At this point, I would imagine that Cablevision would be willing to part with the VOOM 21 for a fairly cheap price. It has already entered into an agreement to sell the VOOM satellite to EchoStar for $200 million, and apparently has no desire to actually air the Rainbow DBS programming as part of Cablevision's HD package (which I suppose gives some indication of what Cablevision thinks about the quality of the content). I would caution EchoStar about overpaying for the VOOM 21, but there's no need. Charlie Ergen is as shrewd a negotiator as you'll find in this business, and he's no fool when it comes to spending his company's money.