Dish Network CEO Leaves as the company Merges with EchoStar

Dish Network announced that its CEO, Erik Carlson, will resign on November 12, just ahead of the company’s merger with EchoStar, its sister company specializing in providing broadband services via satellites. This decision came following a significant decline in satellite TV customers.

In its earnings report released on November 6, Dish Network disclosed that it lost approximately 64,000 net pay-TV subscribers in the three months leading up to September 30, reducing its total to 8.84 million subscribers. This figure is divided between 6.72 million for its DISH TV satellite broadcast business and 2.33 million for its SLING TV streaming service.

Last year, during the same period, Dish Network added 30,000 pay-TV subscribers, which is typically a strong quarter for the company due to NFL and college football events in the United States. However, increased competition from other streaming services contributed to a nearly 10% year-on-year decline in Dish Network’s revenues for the third quarter of 2023, amounting to $3.1 billion. Additionally, the company reported a net loss of $139 million, compared to the $412 million net income it earned in the same quarter the previous year.

In an effort to diversify its revenue streams, Dish Network has made significant investments in a 5G network across the United States. The company aims to strengthen this effort by merging with EchoStar, which has approximately $2 billion in cash reserves. Both Dish Network and EchoStar are controlled by billionaire Charlie Ergen.

EchoStar experienced a 17% year-on-year decline in revenues for the three months ending on September 30, amounting to $413.1 million. The company is awaiting the launch of Jupiter-3, its latest satellite scheduled to enter service in December, which is expected to alleviate capacity constraints and drive subscriber growth.

EchoStar’s internet provider subsidiary, Hughes Network Systems, has approximately 1.6 million subscribers, with a decline of 65,000 from the end of 2022. EchoStar reported $37.4 million in net income for the third quarter of 2023, down $19 million year-on-year.

Dish Network and EchoStar have stated their intention to complete the merger before the end of 2023, as initially announced in August. They did not provide updated timing details in their November 6 announcement.

Erik Carlson was set to step down once the transaction closed, making way for EchoStar CEO Hamid Akhavan, who will assume the role of CEO for the combined company. Dish Network mentioned that Carlson notified the company of his decision to resign on November 3 but will remain on the board until the merger with EchoStar is completed.

In October, the companies made amendments to their all-share merger deal, designating EchoStar as the surviving entity and stockholder rather than Dish Network.

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