Dish Bankruptcy - Business as Usual

[ewindowman]

Looks like dish is Bankrupt. Filling tomorrow Tuesday June 30th

 

[zippyfrog]

https://www.wsj.com/pro/bankruptcy/echostar-prepares-dish-dbs-bankruptcy-filing-as-soon-as-tuesday-b028dfe6

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

https://www.wsj.com/pro/bankruptcy/echostar-prepares-dish-dbs-bankruptcy-filing-as-soon-as-tuesday-b028dfe6

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

I don't think this is a bad thing. Having been through bankruptcy myself i was probably one of the best things I have ever done.

 

[zippyfrog]

Doesn't Dish have billions after the deal with Space X last year?

 

[charlesrshell]

So they shutting down our service?

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

So they shutting down our service?

No. They are restructuring so they can be around a long long time.

 

[Amiga]

I've been wondering when and if the North American providers would merge, like a marriage between DISH (USA) and Bell (Canada). I'm sure the Canadian CRTC would put up roadblocks though.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

Dish Network, Sling TV parent company prepares bankruptcy filing

June 29, 2026 - The bankruptcy could be announced as soon as Tuesday, according to a report; Dish DBS includes Dish Network, Sling TV and Boost Mobile.

thedesk.net

 

[JSheridan]

Doesn't Dish have billions after the deal with Space X last year?

I think Echostar got the money. Dish is a separate company, set up to protect Echostar from this.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

I think Echostar got the money. Dish is a separate company, set up to protect Echostar from this.

I could be wrong but I thought they combined again last year?

 

[navychop]

I'm sure the Canadian CRTC would put up roadblocks though.

I think that is guaranteed. So much so, no one is likely to even try it. And it's been that way since long before the recent souring of relations.

 

[mike123abc]

I could be wrong but I thought they combined again last year?

https://ir.echostar.com/news-releases/news-release-details/echostar-corporation-completes-merger-dish-network-corporation

 

[goaliebob99]

I get that restructuring of debt is a good thing, but Dish Network now has to seriously contend with Starlink and YouTube TV. The satellite business is like a horse and buggy now. You will have a select few that still want it, but why would you want it if you can go with a Ford Fiesta, order internet from a provider that can literally deliver it anywhere, bring an Apple TV or Roku stick, and be up and running in a matter of two minutes? I dont see how Dish can continue to survive in this world. DirecTV is in the same boat.

I have mad respect for Charlie and his accomplishments. With this filing, they probably should exit the business and ride off into the sunset. Entertainment has changed.

 

[Foxbat]

I was thinking something similar, getting DishNetwork reorganized to move forward, and Charlie can finally hang up his spurs.

Will this make it easier for DirecTV and Dish to finally join forces? I believe the loss of subscribers and the new availability of high-speed rural Internet should allay any monopolistic concerns that may be raised if the two DBS providers were to merge.

 

[BradleyD]

(Dealing with a different topic the other day). Even google gemini knows that sat companies that stream have a lot to offer. Satellites can be used for a lot even if it costs to get them up in the sky. Adding streaming ability to that is great. Things will certainly change, but sat is great even still for TV. Maybe different services (tv, phone, etc.) can be combined on one sat if they are not already. It will take some changes, but it should be able to be done.

 

[Arctic_fox]

When your product becomes too expensive, people stop buying.

 

[telstar_1]

Cable/sat is now a convenience service, aggregating content onto a single platform such that one doesn't need to cast about for various content with various streaming gateways. For those not inclined to juggling streaming players & apps, such as the older, nontechnical or simply no-time-for-it market, the cable box or satellite receiver fills the bill as always. To the extent that the provider can loop in streaming offerings in a no-pain way, it's an extra win, and an on-ramp for its subscribers to eventual streaming-only.

Is there any place in the market for someone to declare itself a streaming aggregator and to strike deals with programmers for their streaming to go onto a single-payee platform that provides seamless access between programmers...? Would any of them deal with such a company?

 

[ewindowman]

Correct me if I'm wrong but Dish borrowed lots of money to start a wireless company that was most likely doomed from the beginning. They bought spectrum at any cost to acquire enough bandwidth to achieve their goal. They signed leases and bought equipment and borrowed more money. They held onto the spectrum as long as possible. They then sold most of it to different companies and made a lot of money. Then they started to screw the companies that were installing and leasing the equipment and cell towers. Now they are going to claim bankruptcy under the Dish Network part of Echo Star while they have billions of dollars. So Dish basically took everyone's money that was involved in the financial part of this transaction made a huge profit is screwing everyone over from the banks to the little guy working on the towers and infrastructure.

 

[zippyfrog]

The part I can't wrap my mind around is the $40 billion they have from selling spectrum to Space X ($17 billion) and AT&T ($23 billion). The FCC approved this last month, so I can't connect the dots on the bankruptcy piece of things. $40 billion doesn't sound like a company that needs to file Chapter 11 bankruptcy.