Advanced Television

Ergen: “DISH failing fast”

November 7, 2023

Following on from DISH Network’s miserable results on November 6th (and a 38 per cent crash in its already depressed share price to $3.44, a 25-year low) co-founder Charlie Ergen told analysts that the pay-TV broadcaster was failing fast. “Investors are starting to give up,” Ergen admitted.

One immediate consequence is that DISH Network’s President and CEO Erik Carlson will step down. He has been at DISH since 1995 in various senior roles.

As for DISH Network it is in the process of being merged with sister-company EchoStar, also controlled by Ergen. The merger is expected to close by the end of this year. DISH is also investing heavily in 5G cellular connectivity throughout the US.

EchoStar reported $37.4 million in net income for the third quarter of 2023, down $19 million year-on-year. That income mostly flowed from EchoStar’s Hughes Network division.

DISH network as well as arch-rival DirecTV have suffered as streaming has grown more popular.

Analysts at MoffettNathanson, in a note to clients, said the DISH results were astonishingly bad. “The overwhelming probability here has always been that Dish would enter bankruptcy sometime in the next few years. Today’s results likely accelerate that.”

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