I also agree Dish is getting ready for a SALE, or "Merge." No buyer would want Echostar holding such assets with control of the new company. When I say getting ready, I mean--IMHO--there is already a specific buyer who've cut a deal and are just waiting for transfer of assets before Dish and mystery company make an announcement. I don't think Charlie would be doing this if it were not that a specific buyer wants those assets as part of the deal, although I'm sure Charlie figured he would have to do so for almost any buyer.
My vote (not necessarily hope) is that it is likely Verizon. They need this badly. The path they took for TV content is a disaster, and since the AT&T purchase of DirecTV, Verizon has to get a REAL TV option going. Rumor was Verizon was looking for a "cable company," which I think was a rumor intended to throw others off the track of Verizon negotiating with Dish. Greasy John, probably knew of the talks and likelihood when he stated that "Dish would not be Dish anymore."
The interesting point will be HOW MUCH MONEY they will pay for Dish. Earlier, before AT&T/DirecTV, Verizon probably thought Charlie wanted too much money for Dish, and Charlie publicly stated how he felt that Dish is worth more than some potential buyers thought because he (Charlie) had set Dish for the future better [meaning SlingTV OTT], and he could have been referring to both AT&T and Verizon most likely but along with others Dish may have talked to back then. Then AT&T/DirecTV, now Verizon is particularly behind in the TV front. It could be a wireless carrier, but they don't NEED Dish as badly as Verizon, and Verizon most likely would demand and NEED all the assets being transferred from Echo to Dish. A wireless carrier only company would most likely only need SlingTV and would prefer Echo to keep the costly sat and fiber backhaul, etc. as the wireless carrier could work from there to grow the business. But for Verizon, they would need the entire MVPD infrastructure for full control and willing to bear the costs in the short term, since they view it more as getting back in the MVPD biz.