It is reported that as many as 30 state attorneys are looking at the case, which is currently being examined by US competition regulators. Concerns are that a merger between the two broadcasters would create a monopoly in areas that are not serviced by cable television.
One state that is looking at the case closely is Missouri, where about one third of the state's residents are reliant on satellite delivery for television.
EchoStar already faces opposition from rival broadcasters such as News Corporation, which failed in its bid to take over the Hughes Electronics-owned DirecTV. The company has not been helped by an earlier anti-trust lawsuit it filed against DirecTV, accusing it of abusing its dominant market position.
EchoStar, headed by chief executive Charles Ergen, is arguing that the merger should be judged in the context of the entire pay-TV market, including cable operators and providers of satellite TV using much bigger satellite dishes than those supplied by DirecTV and EchoStar.
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