Well, one issue is that Dish Network only added 730K subscribers. In the same period last year, Dish Network added 890K subscribers. If Dish Network managed to add 890K in Q108, they'd have an almost non-existant profit, as the subscriber acquisition cost for those extra 160K would have been pretty large. DISH reported SAC as $709, so that cost would have been about $113.5 million. If that did happen, it would have been less profit than last year's first quarter...
Long story short, you are more profitable if you don't grow.