It's unclear whether a warning over satellite TV subscriber numbers will affect Rupert Murdoch's bid to take control of DirecTV.
Hughes Electronics, which issued the warning, has been the subject of merger negotiations between parent company General Motors and media conglomerate News Corp. It now expects that the net gain in US subscribers will be about 175,000 in the second quarter. That's down as much as 46 percent from a previous forecast of a gain of 275,000 to 350,000 new subscribers.
It was not immediately clear whether the warning would affect the protracted negotiations between GM and Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. over the fate of Hughes, which trades as a tracking stock in the automaker.
Murdoch has bid to take control of DirecTV to add a US component to its Sky Global network of satellite TV services, which includes broadcasters in Europe, Asia and Latin America. EchoStar Communications, the No. 2 US satellite provider, is also said to be interested in a counteroffer.
Hughes projected that it will end the year with a US subscriber base of 10.8 million, down from an earlier forecast of between 11 million and 11.2 million.
In a statement, Hughes blamed the slowdown on the softening US economy and slower growth in its rural subscriber base, but said the slowdown would also result in reduced expenses.
