Nov. 19 (Bloomberg) -- EchoStar Communications Corp., the second-largest U.S. satellite television service, rose the most in more than six years on the Nasdaq after Barron's reported that AT&T Inc. may be interested in buying the company.

EchoStar shares gained $7.66, or 19 percent, to $47.49 at 4 p.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market trading, the biggest advance since January 2001. The stock had slumped 18 percent last week after Englewood, Colorado-based EchoStar posted third- quarter subscriber growth that trailed some analysts' estimates.

The decline spurred AT&T's ``reinvigorated'' acquisition interest, Barron's said in its ``The Trader'' column, citing an unidentified person familiar with the company. AT&T, owner of the biggest U.S. wireless service, may pay $64 to $68 a share in a deal that may be announced this week, TheStreet.com said today, citing an unidentified source with knowledge of the talks.

AT&T spokesman Michael Coe declined to comment, as did Kathie Gonzalez, an EchoStar spokeswoman.

AT&T shares dropped the most since January 2004, declining $1.80, or 4.6 percent, to $37.75 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading.

Citigroup Inc. analyst Jason Bazinet raised his rating on EchoStar shares and now recommends investors buy the stock. There's a 65 percent chance that AT&T will acquire EchoStar over the next 12 months, Bazinet said in a note to investors Nov. 16.

Analysts including New York-based Bazinet and Thomas Eagan at Oppenheimer & Co. have said in the past two months that AT&T may try to buy EchoStar to compete with cable companies offering Internet and telephone services.

U-verse

EchoStar's Dish Network would bolster AT&T's video offering with 13.7 million satellite-TV subscribers. AT&T, based in San Antonio, expanded its U-verse video product beyond Texas last year. The service, with 126,000 customers, uses fiber-optic technology and high-speed Web connections that can't cover the long distances required in sparsely populated areas.

AT&T's Randall Stephenson has made two multibillion-dollar acquisitions since becoming chief executive officer in June. The company completed the $2.8 billion purchase of rural mobile-phone carrier Dobson Communications Corp. last week. It agreed last month to buy licenses for wireless airwaves from Aloha Partners LP for $2.5 billion.

AT&T wants to get approval for the purchase before any change in White House political control next year, Barron's said.

``We don't expect a deal to happen,'' Todd Rosenbluth, an analyst with Standard & Poor's in New York, said in an interview today. ``AT&T's having success in their own offering'' of video.

Spinoff

Rosenbluth raised his rating on AT&T stock last week and recommends investors buy the stock.

EchoStar said in September that it may split the business in two, spurring speculation the company may be bought. The final terms and timing of the spinoff, which would separate the Dish network from an equipment business, haven't been determined, EchoStar said in a regulatory filing Nov. 9.

AT&T sells EchoStar's Dish Network service in areas the U- verse TV technology doesn't reach. The companies have collaborated on a TV set-top box that can download video and photos over an Internet connection.

The company also sells DirecTV Group Inc.'s satellite service in the nine-state region it acquired with the purchase of BellSouth Corp. last year. DirecTV is the largest U.S. satellite- TV provider. AT&T has said it will choose a single satellite provider by early next year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Sarah Rabil in New York at srabil@bloomberg.net; Crayton Harrison in Dallas at tharrison5@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: November 19, 2007 16:20 EST