Dish sheds 102,000 subs and reports a Profit

[dmendenjr]

Press release from webesite.

DISH Network(R) Reports Fourth Quarter 2008 Financial Results

ENGLEWOOD, Colo., March 2, 2009 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX News Network/ -- DISH Network Corporation (Nasdaq: DISH) today reported total revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2008, a 1 percent increase compared with $2.89 billion for the corresponding period in 2007.

Net income totaled $217 million for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2008, compared with $175 million during the corresponding period in 2007. Diluted earnings per share were $0.48 for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2008, compared with $0.39 during the corresponding period in 2007.

For the year ended Dec. 31, 2008, DISH Network reported total revenue of $11.62 billion compared with $11.09 billion for the year ended Dec. 31, 2007, an increase of 5 percent. DISH Network's net income for the year ended Dec. 31, 2008, totaled $903 million, compared with $756 million for the year ended Dec. 31, 2007. Diluted earnings per share were $1.98 for the year ended Dec. 31, 2008, compared with $1.68 during the corresponding period in 2007.

DISH Network lost approximately 102,000 net subscribers during the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2008, giving the company approximately 13.678 million subscribers at year-end. The number of net subscribers lost for the full year ended Dec. 31, 2008 was also approximately 102,000.

Detailed financial data and other information are available in DISH Network's Form 10-K for the annual period ended Dec. 31, 2008, filed today with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

About DISH Network Corporation
DISH Network Corporation (Nasdaq: DISH) provides approximately 13.678 million satellite TV customers as of Dec. 31, 2008 with the highest quality programming and technology at the best value, including the lowest all-digital price nationwide. Customers have access to hundreds of video and audio channels, the most international channels in the U.S., state-of-the-art interactive TV applications, and award-winning HD and DVR technology including 1080p Video on Demand and the DuoDVR(TM) ViP(R) 722 DVR, a CNET and PC Magazine "Editors' Choice." DISH Network is included in the Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) and is a Fortune 250 company. Visit www.dishnetwork.com.

DISH Network will host its Fourth Quarter and year-end 2008 financial results conference call today at noon ET. The dial-in number is (800) 616-6729.

((Edit, just realized I didn't finish the title, should have ended "... and reports a profit."))

 

[HDRoberts]

Whoa, more than 100k. I figured it would be half that.

Time for Charlie to blame the economy, even when DirecTV has no problems.

I hope this "Get Happy" campaign is paying off this quarter.

 

[tigerfan33]

Charlie will not care until he loses subs AND revenue!!!!

 

[Skyhi]

Wow. Thats bad news for Dish. I don't think the economy can be discounted as a reason for such churn (although it certainly isn't the sole reason). E* has traditionally marketed itself as a "value" provider. Maybe some of these "value" customers are at the forefront of the recession and decided to drop Pay-TV altogether.

That being said, there are other reasons for losing 100k subs.....I just can't think of any good ones? Poor marketing maybe?

 

[KAB]

Time for Charlie to blame the economy, even when DirecTV has no problems.

Direct subs may just be more recession proof. Seriously.

 

[mdonnelly]

Interesting. The 10-K filing says that E-14 (late 2009) and E-15 (late 2010) are both slotted for 119wl. I hadn't seen that anywhere before this.

 

[Laddyboy]

Interesting. The 10-K filing says that E-14 (late 2009) and E-15 (late 2010) are both slotted for 119wl. I hadn't seen that anywhere before this.

So I guess the leftovers from 119 will migrate to eastern arc when new hardware arrives on station. Or maybe to 148 for AK/HI service.

 

[Laddyboy]

The subscriber loss doesn't surprise me at all. I think most of us expected it given the screwed up mess that E* seems to be these days. I won't be surprised to see sub losses continue forward either.

 

[roachxp]

If Charlie blames the economy again then he is dumb. All the other TV businesses are reporting plenty of subs increases. Fios and Uverse are taking his subs clear and simple.

 

[KAB]

No. The worst recession in 70 years has nothing to do with it.

 

[mdonnelly]

If Charlie blames the economy again then he is dumb. All the other TV businesses are reporting plenty of subs increases. Fios and Uverse are taking his subs clear and simple.

Now that Cox Cable has upped their HD offerings, I'm back with them. The bundle is hard to pass up with everything else equal.

 

[osu1991]

Now that Cox Cable has upped their HD offerings, I'm back with them. The bundle is hard to pass up with everything else equal.

I thought about Cox, but I don't need home phone service and their dvr's are still dinosaurs. I think you guys in OKC still get the SA boxes and we get the Motorola's here in Tulsa. Those dvrs are still a major reason I won't consider Cox. Plus I get about 6 HD channels and the locals in the clear with my cable internet.

 

[HDRoberts]

Interesting. The 10-K filing says that E-14 (late 2009) and E-15 (late 2010) are both slotted for 119wl. I hadn't seen that anywhere before this.

Good observation. I presumed E15 would head for 61.5, as it was ordered just after AMC 14 was lost. Maybe a typo? I guess E6, once Nimiq-5 starts, or E7, when E14 comes will head for 61.5

Perhaps one high-powered CONUS (like E11), and a spotbeam sat (like E10). But it seems like overkill with only 21 TPs at 119. I think one sat could do the job (like it does now)

Also confirmation E14 is for the end of this year, although I don't think it has shown us an an official or unofficial manifest.

 

[dfergie]

Press release from webesite.


((Edit, just realized I didn't finish the title, should have ended "... and reports a profit."))

added...

 

[mdonnelly]

I thought about Cox, but I don't need home phone service and their dvr's are still dinosaurs. I think you guys in OKC still get the SA boxes and we get the Motorola's here in Tulsa. Those dvrs are still a major reason I won't consider Cox. Plus I get about 6 HD channels and the locals in the clear with my cable internet.

I don't DVR. Made my decision easier.

 

[jpmarto]

Charlie's a genius with a business plan. Drive customers away and make more money. With a little more effort he can lose 250,000 customers in 2009, thereby increasing profits another 3%. Invest now!

 

[dmendenjr]

added...

thanks, just woke up and did my check to see if there was any "GOOD" news this morning, when I saw this I thought I'd share it... not the good news I was hoping to see; with any luck they will try to hide this with some good news later this week. Really need to avoid posting before 7am.

As for the loss, they still have some of the cheapest programming packages in the industry; with more people taking their expendable income to do things at home... ya'd think they would be able to add at least a handful of subs. This is poor marketing and management plain and simple.

How you can't get people to sign up for a $30/month HD cable package is beyond me.

 

[satjay]

Charlie's a genius with a business plan. Drive customers away and make more money. With a little more effort he can lose 250,000 customers in 2009, thereby increasing profits another 3%. Invest now!

So from a business standpoint, not all bad? Lost subscribers but profit up?, I know its all about the investors and profit but contiuned loss cant help, but I guess it can when profit is up?

 

[Skyhi]

It's bad. "profit" can sometimes be misleading. Investors will not be happy with the churn.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

No. The worst recession in 70 years has nothing to do with it.

Actually it dosent.

If the economy was causing issues DirecTV's numbers would mirror Dish Networks. Instead for the 4th quarter DirecTV had a record quarter and positive subscriber growth.