DirecTV will write a check for a full dollar – 100 cents – to buy former rival Dish Network and its Sling TV business.

Of course, that’s not the only financial component of the transaction, which would create the largest US provider in the declining pay-TV industry with around 18 million customers. DirecTV will assume about $9.75 billion in debt currently on the books of Dish parent company EchoStar. In fact, EchoStar is giving away its shrinking satellite and streaming TV businesses to get rid of a large chunk of debt so it can focus on building a wireless business.

Why does DirecTV’s deal for Dish even include the $1 “nominal price”? On the one hand, transactions often require some sort of payment to become legally binding. A sales price of just one dollar is usually a sign that the deal is a property that is saddled with significant liabilities.

Here’s a look at some other famous $1 deals.

Bar stool sports: In August 2023, Dave Portnoy bought back the bold sports and pop culture media company he founded from gaming operator Penn Entertainment for $1 – after Penn spent $550 million to acquire 100% control of Barstool ultimately unsuccessful attempt to integrate the Barstool brand into its online betting business. After the deal was announced, Portnoy said he would “never sell Barstool Sports, I’ll hold on to it until I die.”

Newsweek: The Washington Post Co. sold the former newsmagazine in 2010 to audio mogul Sidney Harman for $1 and the assumption of its liabilities. Harman merged Newsweek with the Daily Beast Co.; Barry Diller’s IAC acquired a majority stake in that company before selling Newsweek to IBT Media in 2013. “I wish I hadn’t bought Newsweek. It was a mistake,” Diller said a few months before IAC sold the property. According to Newsweek’s website, after criminal charges were filed against one of IBT Media’s executives, CEO Dev Pragad bought a 50 percent stake in Newsweek (and the company’s other executive, Johnathan Davis, retained his half of the company and became a silent partner ). .

TV guide: In 2008, venture capital firm OpenGate Capital bought TV Guide for $1 from Macrovision, the TV technology company that had acquired Gemstar-TV Guide for its interactive on-screen program guide. OpenGate also provided Macrovision with a $9.5 million loan to help the company operate the magazine over the next few years. Today, TV Guide Magazine is owned by NTVB Media, while TV Guide’s digital business is part of Fandom.

The rights to the “Terminator” film series: In 1984, James Cameron transferred his half of the rights to The Terminator to Gale Anne Hurd, Cameron’s former producing partner and ex-wife, for $1 before they made the first film, in exchange for a guarantee that he would not be replaced would director. Cameron expressed regret over this decision: “If I had a little time machine and could only send back something the length of a tweet, it would be ‘Do not sell,'” he told the Toronto Sun interview in 2009.

SEE ALSO: DirecTV acquires Dish in merger of satellite TV rivals