John Malone’s Liberty Media, which controls DirecTV, is in preliminary talks with debt-ridden Sirius XM Radio, which has already been approached by satellite TV rival EchoStar, the New York Times reports. Sirius XM has rebuffed EchoStar’s advances and Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin does not get along with Charlie Ergen, EchoStar’s founder, the paper says. Malone’s involvement with Sirius may just be a ploy to make a takeover by EchoStar more expensive, analysts suggest.
—Jon Lafayette