Dish goes after Blockbuster, a brick and mortar store with small piece in streaming media; now Liberty (aka Direct TV) sees value in another brick and mortar store, Barnes and Nobel, with a piece in streaming media. I sense a trend! "Put another way, Like satellite competitor Charlie Ergen, who surprised observers by acquiring Blockbuster from bankruptcy court for Dish Network, they are looking primarily at the part of the business that is growing and believe they can take advantage of the existing bricks-and-mortar business while managing a transition." And perhaps there is some synergy in owning a national chain and selling a content product.
All in all, this is a story about digital media. For both Liberty and Dish, the digital piece has the most growth potential, to help support content distribution, And for Liberty, who also has pieces in Sirius, Starz, and QVC, the book store could be of help in pushing further sales and marketing efforts. A good synergistic opportunity.
Will Liberty's offer be accepted and are their any regulator concerns to overcome? Heck if Comcast can get NBCU, then it seems like nothing should stop it, except for a rejection by B&N shareholders. A Liberty merger though seems like a smart move and a good thing for both parties. Of course a rejection will only take B&N closer to Border's DOA world.
