From SkyReport

While many in the pay-TV world believe a merger between DIRECTV and EchoStar’s DISH Network remains a long shot, recent comments by John Malone have peaked people’s interest in the possibility that the two companies will work together for a brighter HDTV future. Reports have circulated that the Liberty Media big shot - and incoming DIRECTV boss - said the nation’s largest satellite TV provider may team up with its rival EchoStar on several high-def initiatives.

As has been widely reported, Liberty is preparing to take control of DIRECTV in a stock swap with former parent News Corp. The deal is expected to close sometime near mid-2007. Last week, Malone was quoted in industry press reports as saying he is excited about DIRECTV’s upcoming launch of two new satellites that will greatly expand the company’s HD capacity. The satellites will enable DIRECTV to offer up to 150 national HD channels.

Malone said although many observers believe the federal government would continue to disapprove of a merger deal, the companies could still work together on various projects, specifically HDTV. If the government won’t let the two companies join forces, the Liberty chair said they could save a lot of money by cooperating in certain areas.

“We could form an alliance with EchoStar and share a high-definition platform, which would either double the capacity or cut the costs in half,” Malone told Broadcasting & Cable. “We could develop content jointly with EchoStar for that high-definition platform, which would be very interesting.”