Dish/Echostar 1st Quarter Report

Looks like the only way out of DISH's mess is to go bankrupt and reorganize their debt.
With how high the debt is-

  • EchoStar long term debt for the quarter ending March 31, 2025 was $25.328B, a 28.59% increase year-over-year.

  • EchoStar total liabilities for the quarter ending March 31, 2025 were $40.509B, a 13.42% increase year-over-year.

I believe it might be the only option based on the amounts above.
But the FCC might not let him continue to hoard all the spectrum he has that he is not using. He might have to sell it off to pay some of his debts or to keep Boost in business? :smug
They have set dates when they are allowed to sell (lease out) the spectrum, believe the first date is next year.



 
Looks like the only way out of DISH's mess is to go bankrupt and reorganize their debt. But the FCC might not let him continue to hoard all the spectrum he has that he is not using. He might have to sell it off to pay some of his debts or to keep Boost in business? As the Echostar World Turns. Love the Soap reference. ;)
Right, but BK proceedings take time, sometimes a lot of time before approval of restructuring and asset allocation. So right now he's probably trying to stretch out as far as possible the start of all of that
 
Right, but BK proceedings take time, sometimes a lot of time before approval of restructuring and asset allocation. So right now he's probably trying to stretch out as far as possible the start of all of that
I believe the Bally Sport's Chapter 11 lasted almost 2 years.

Dish/Echostar will be extremely more complicated.

For one example, some of the Bond Holders have shown they are not that flexible.
 
The judge would have lots of options.
Bankruptcy attorneys will tell you it is better to file earlier than later.
Why?
Because it is likely the existing management will remain as debtors in possession and the judge lets them keep the assets, both cash, contracts, and hard assets while things roll along. The creditors will howl and scream but the assets stays with the business in an effort to get it successfully reorganized.

Also, it is quite normal for the judge to carve out a special protection for the employees (normally at the bottom of the pile) to protect their jobs and benefits.

It's all about trying to get the business back up and running successfully.

Been there, done that while working for a Federal Bankruptcy Trustee for several years.
 
But the tv service isn't insolvent. The trouble is coming from something that isn't "running"- c's overleveraging on auctioned spectrum that came with requirements he has failed to fulfill. Remember he was always taunting telling the dealers "Follow the rules, get paid. Don't follow the rules, don't get paid."
 
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And more-

"In our view, the initial FCC filings could be interpreted as a 'shot across the bows' of EchoStar who have struggled to build a sustainable wireless business, even with the better April KPIs they are a very long way from being profitable. We do believe there is a growing case (and arguably the FCC review could be a catalyst for this) to sell their wireless spectrum (c. 130Mhz) and possibly wireless subscribers to the existing 3 wireless carriers (something the ex-FCC chair Tom Wheeler recently suggested may be possible in an event we hosted). This may come with a big spectrum spend cost but could remove a significant long-term overhang (a deep pocketed investor buying the SATS wireless operations) for the wireless industry."

Can someone 'dumb'this down for me... I've read this several times but..

If Charlie misses the payment..is it possible that Boost would no longer...exist? Still function but under a different entity? Be force sold to a different carrier?
 
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Can someone 'dumb'this down for me... I've read this several times but..

If Charlie misses the payment..is it possible that Boost would no longer...exist? Still function but under a different entity? Be force sold to a different carrier?

The TV business is profitable, it isn't going away. With chapter 11 bankruptcy they can spin/sell off the wireless business and shed a lot of the debt they have. They just haven't found a way to generate cash flow with all the money they sunk into building out the network.
 
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