Launch failures are simply a cost of doing business - I'm sure there are contingency plans in place so the failure doesn't set them back too far. Launching birds is a risky business, and everyone who uses satellites knows it. RE: converting everything to MPEG4, there's still some constraint of components on the uplink/downlink end. I would not hope for a merger - the egos involved would not make that easy, and they've tried before and run into anti-competition regulation...not enough available for the rural customers.