Advanced Television

Echostar

Starlink eating HughesNet subs

EchoStar-owned broadband-by-satellite service HughesNet has reportedly lost more than 30 per cent of its subscribers over the past three years with Starlink seemingly picking up the cancellations. Some of the comments suggest that for HughesNet subscribers “in a deep valley with limited potential visibility of Starlink” they will have to stay with HughesNet. Other HughesNet […]

January 25, 2024

Creditors hit Dish with “illegal” allegations

More detail has emerged on the news that a number of Dish Network creditors have written to the company alleging that the Charlie Ergen-backed pay-TV broadcaster engaged in an “illegal” restructuring when it – in effect – merged with EchoStar. They are demanding that the merger be reversed. This is unlikely to happen so the […]

January 23, 2024By Chris Forrester

EchoStar under threat from Dish investors

EchoStar, having recently merged with Dish Network, has upset some investors and creditors in Dish. An Ad-hoc grouping of Dish Network investors and holders of the company’s debt have reportedly met and drafted an agreement to band together in potential negotiations with the company. The groups are exploring legal options, including default notices under certain […]

January 22, 2024By Chris Forrester

Dish cuts 157 staff

Having already announced in November 2023 that 499 staff would be let go, newly merged EchoStar is laying off another 157 workers. The staff will be paid until March, said a company announcement. Dish Network and EchoStar, both based in suburbs of Denver, Colorado, merged on December 31st 2023. The news was filed to local […]

January 15, 2024By Chris Forrester

Ergen seeks $4.9bn swap of new bonds

Charlie Ergen’s EchoStar is reportedly looking to swap around $4.9 billion (€4.4bn) of debt for new bonds that will be backed by the company’s extensive portfolio of 5G wireless spectrum. The plan was announced after the market closed on January 12th and in essence said that holders of existing convertible debt – already significantly downgraded […]

January 15, 2024By Chris Forrester

Ergen starts fiscal manoeuvres

Charlie Ergen has been busy mapping out his chess-type strategy for his combined Dish Network and EchoStar businesses. Now trading under the ‘Dish’ banner, Ergen has spun off a batch of his terrestrial spectrum licences into a new subsidiary and this move helped rocket Dish’s share price by an impressive 41 per cent on January […]

January 11, 2024

Dish Network, EchoStar merger wraps

Nasdaq has received a Delisting Notice saying that US pay-TV operator Dish Network is no longer trading in terms of its shares, effective December 29th 2023. Dish, along with its ‘sister’ company EchoStar, both majority controlled by founder Charlie Ergen, are in the process of merging and the actual merger was expected to happen on […]

January 2, 2024By Chris Forrester

FCC approves Dish/EchoStar licence transfers

The FCC has approved the transfer of control of Dish Network and its subsidiaries to EchoStar Corp. The FCC, and the bureaux under its supervision (the Office of Engineering & Technology, the Space Bureau, the Wireless Telecommunications) allowed the transfer of its broadcast and transmission licences. The FCC order includes those terrestrial licences for Dish’s […]

December 7, 2023By Chris Forrester

EchoStar’s Jupiter 3 being tested

Maxar Space Systems says it has successfully handed over operations of the largest commercial communications satellite ever manufactured in their Palo Alto, California facility, the Jupiter 3 broadband satellite, for EchoStar’s HughesConnects subsidiary. The satellite, already in orbit, includes 14 solar panels on board that when fully deployed could span a 10-storey building. Maxar Space […]

November 17, 2023

DISH Network lays off 500; Akhavan now CEO

Denver-based DISH Network, reeling from a shrinking subscriber base and a collapsing share price, has announced that more than 500 staff are being laid off. “Like most businesses, we continually evaluate and make adjustments to ensure we’re set up for long-term success,” DISH said in a statement. “We made the difficult decision to part ways […]

November 13, 2023By Chris Forrester