EchoStar Soars 15%+ Intraday on Reports It Could Soon Sell Dish Network to Rival DirecTV

The Journal quoted unnamed sources as saying that a merger deal could come as early as Monday, although the paper provided no specifics on pricing.

Dish Network and DirecTV compete with each other in selling satellite TV service to consumers, but both have long been losing subscribers amid the market's shift from pay TV to streaming.

The Journal reported that the two companies' customer bases have fallen sharply over the past decade to around 20 million subscribers between them.

That's fueled speculation for years that Dish Network and DirecTV might merge, and has also prompted market beliefs that such a deal might clear U.S. antitrust laws.

The Journal's sister publication MarketWatch quoted a DirecTV spokesperson as saying that "rumors about a potential transaction involving DirecTV and Dish are nothing new, but we don't comment on rumors and speculation." The publication added that Dish did not immediately respond to a request for comment.