DISH Re-Sharpens Focus After Sub Loss

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DISH Re-Sharpens Focus After Sub Loss

(SkyReport) DISH Network may have reported a down second quarter, but CEO Charlie Ergen said the DBS company is working to address the challenges.

The small dish platform reported - for the first time - a net subscriber loss of 25,000 for the second quarter. That took DISH Network's customer total to 13.585 million subscribers.

"It's not a good number … and I'm disappointed with that," said Ergen on the second quarter subscriber loss. "But we will stay on top of operations. We are not going to take a back seat to operational excellence."

In a conference call with analysts Monday, Ergen outlined four areas that have impacted DISH's operations. One of the items was the souring economy and woes being experienced in the housing market, which Ergen admitted was out of the company's control.

The other three matters included ongoing piracy and fraud troubles, an intensely competitive environment in the pay-TV business, and operational efficiencies at the company. Ergen stressed during the call that the company is addressing those challenges.

On the piracy front, DISH started sending out a new generation of smart cards last month, and that could address illegitimate boxes receiving the DBS service, he said. On the operational issues, Ergen said DISH is "answering the phones on time" and working on other efforts tied to customer service.

On the competition, Ergen said DISH continues to ramp up its high-def efforts. The service recently launched new HD channels - which numbered 114 as of last Friday - and is preparing to use a new satellite - EchoStar XI - by the end of the month.

Second quarter churn was 1.87 percent, a jump from 1.68 percent in the first quarter and 1.68 for second quarter 2007.

DISH Network said revenue totaled $2.91 billion for the second quarter, a 5.6 percent increase compared to $2.76 billion for the corresponding period in 2007. Net income for the second quarter was $336 million, compared with $224 million for the corresponding period in 2007.

A Perspective on DISH's 2Q Sub Loss

The second quarter subscriber loss for DISH Network may be unprecedented in DBS circles. But it's not the first set of customer defections for the satellite business.

For years, viewers have been ditching big dish C-Band services. At one point, C-Band customers totaled more than 2 million. As of November 2007, the number of C-Band users paying for programming services stood at 38,743, stated numbers from Motorola's C-Band access control unit.

Still, the DISH second quarter subscriber losses are a first for the DBS side of the business. And the drop illustrated some slowing customer enrollment trends for the No. 2 small dish company.

In the first quarter, DISH Network reported that it netted 35,000 customers, for a total of 13.815 million. For comparison, in second quarter 2007, the company added 170,000 net new subscribers, ending the period with approximately 13.585 million subscribers.

EchoStar Revenue, Income Up

As for Charlie Ergen's other company, EchoStar reported second quarter revenue of $483 million, a 46.2 percent increase when compared with $331 million for the corresponding period in 2007.

EchoStar reported net income of $48 million for the quarter, compared with net losses of $15 million for the same period in 2007. Basic earnings per share were 53 cents for the quarter, compared with a basic loss per share of 16 cents for the corresponding period last year.

EchoStar operates two primary businesses, which include equipment sales and digital broadcast operations and satellite services.
 
DISH Re-Sharpens Focus After Sub Loss

(SkyReport) DISH Network may have reported a down second quarter, but CEO Charlie Ergen said the DBS company is working to address the challenges.

The small dish platform reported - for the first time - a net subscriber loss of 25,000 for the second quarter. That took DISH Network's customer total to 13.585 million subscribers.

"It's not a good number … and I'm disappointed with that," said Ergen on the second quarter subscriber loss. "But we will stay on top of operations. We are not going to take a back seat to operational excellence."

In a conference call with analysts Monday, Ergen outlined four areas that have impacted DISH's operations. One of the items was the souring economy and woes being experienced in the housing market, which Ergen admitted was out of the company's control.

The other three matters included ongoing piracy and fraud troubles, an intensely competitive environment in the pay-TV business, and operational efficiencies at the company. Ergen stressed during the call that the company is addressing those challenges.

On the piracy front, DISH started sending out a new generation of smart cards last month, and that could address illegitimate boxes receiving the DBS service, he said. On the operational issues, Ergen said DISH is "answering the phones on time" and working on other efforts tied to customer service.

On the competition, Ergen said DISH continues to ramp up its high-def efforts. The service recently launched new HD channels - which numbered 114 as of last Friday - and is preparing to use a new satellite - EchoStar XI - by the end of the month.

Second quarter churn was 1.87 percent, a jump from 1.68 percent in the first quarter and 1.68 for second quarter 2007.

DISH Network said revenue totaled $2.91 billion for the second quarter, a 5.6 percent increase compared to $2.76 billion for the corresponding period in 2007. Net income for the second quarter was $336 million, compared with $224 million for the corresponding period in 2007.

A Perspective on DISH's 2Q Sub Loss

The second quarter subscriber loss for DISH Network may be unprecedented in DBS circles. But it's not the first set of customer defections for the satellite business.

For years, viewers have been ditching big dish C-Band services. At one point, C-Band customers totaled more than 2 million. As of November 2007, the number of C-Band users paying for programming services stood at 38,743, stated numbers from Motorola's C-Band access control unit.

Still, the DISH second quarter subscriber losses are a first for the DBS side of the business. And the drop illustrated some slowing customer enrollment trends for the No. 2 small dish company.

In the first quarter, DISH Network reported that it netted 35,000 customers, for a total of 13.815 million. For comparison, in second quarter 2007, the company added 170,000 net new subscribers, ending the period with approximately 13.585 million subscribers.

EchoStar Revenue, Income Up

As for Charlie Ergen's other company, EchoStar reported second quarter revenue of $483 million, a 46.2 percent increase when compared with $331 million for the corresponding period in 2007.

EchoStar reported net income of $48 million for the quarter, compared with net losses of $15 million for the same period in 2007. Basic earnings per share were 53 cents for the quarter, compared with a basic loss per share of 16 cents for the corresponding period last year.

EchoStar operates two primary businesses, which include equipment sales and digital broadcast operations and satellite services.



so....i doubt charlie and his cronies are gonna go hungry anytime soon.
 
They will if they don't get this current crisis with the 522/625 shortage straightened out. And I mean real soon. It sucks for the installers to see half our daily routed euthanized because there's no SD DVRs. And does E* really expect the customer to just sit idle and be rescheduled? Most are going to say "F* it!" and jump to either D* or finagle a short-term deal with their local cable company.
 
The 625 thing, probably a parts issue or something. It happens in the engineering/manufacturing world. That box has been around awhile, it is conceivable that some parts are no longer available or they are just having general shortages. We'll never know though. Maybe it's just time to only offer the MPEG4s as a solution :)
 
The 625 thing, probably a parts issue or something. It happens in the engineering/manufacturing world. That box has been around awhile, it is conceivable that some parts are no longer available or they are just having general shortages. We'll never know though. Maybe it's just time to only offer the MPEG4s as a solution :)

The 625 *is* a MPEG4 box.
 
Where is this list of 114 HD channels? They must be counting the channels multiple times, when they duplicate them in the 94xx range and then down in the 100 - 400 range.

Do they count all of the sports channels as HD, when they are unused more than 95 percent of the time?
 
I can't believe Charlie is still pushing MPEG2 STBs, and that there is a shortage...?!! Installers, as webbydude has put it, are really getting the short end of the stick. How are they supposed to survive in this environment when they can't even get their hands on basic STBs? Why isn't Dish pushing MPEG4 STBs?

Yet another example of Charlie, way behind the 8-ball...

Makes you wonder what 3Q net subs will look like...?
 
We're talking SD receivers here, not HD.

The company is supposedly taking aim at an eventual, all MPEG4 stature, both SD and HD, with their sights on saving even more bandwidth, and less satellite commitments.

It only makes sense... it sounds like as mess. Vision requires leadership and action... all seem to be missing, in the last 3Qs...

But again, revenues are up, while subs are down. :confused:
 
They will if they don't get this current crisis with the 522/625 shortage straightened out. ...

Interesting to know that, have any of you thought about there may be another reason for the "shortage"? Depending what the court will rule on 9/4, while I believe E* will prevail, it does make sense to hold off on the 522/625 deployment. If the ruling is against E*, they will have to turn off all 522/625 DVR functions. Yes they can still appeal and they again will prevail, but wait till 9/4 is probably a good idea.

Of course the above is only my wild speculation.
 
Where is this list of 114 HD channels? They must be counting the channels multiple times, when they duplicate them in the 94xx range and then down in the 100 - 400 range.

Do they count all of the sports channels as HD, when they are unused more than 95 percent of the time?

I want to work at Dish, where 1+1=6
 
I can't believe Charlie is still pushing MPEG2 STBs, and that there is a shortage...?!! Installers, as webbydude has put it, are really getting the short end of the stick. How are they supposed to survive in this environment when they can't even get their hands on basic STBs? Why isn't Dish pushing MPEG4 STBs?

Yet another example of Charlie, way behind the 8-ball...

Makes you wonder what 3Q net subs will look like...?

Seems to be a trend with Dish.

Four years before Direc rolled out their expanded HD lineup, I won a contract to find RF Engineers with Phd or better to design the new antenae necessary to receive all the satellite signals. It was a 6 month project that included implementation of the design to production facilities. At the end of the contract Direc had an assembly line pumping out the new dishes for the yet to be unveiled service. They immediately implemented the changes on two production lines in Mexico as well as Hughes CA facility. Now that is thinking ahead.
 
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