Dish Satellite TV Losses Slow to 66K Customers in Q3

Dish Network reported the loss of only 66,000 satellite TV subscribers in the third quarter, a marked improvement over the 367,000 lost in the third quarter of 2018.

In fact, it was Dish satellite’s best quarterly subscriber performance since the end of 2016, the last time it reported a gain in satellite TV users.

Overall, subscriber-wise, Dish ended Q3 net positive, with Sling TV picking up 214,000 users. It was Sling TV’s best customer performance since the third quarter of 2017.

Dish ended the quarter with 9.49 million remaining satellite TV subscribers and 2.69 million Sling TV users. The continued growth of the low-margin virtual pay TV service amid the sustained erosion of the satellite platform have cut into revenue.

Dish reported Q3 revenue of $3.19 billion compared to $3.4 billion in the year-ago time period. Net income totaled $353 million, compared to net income of $432 million from the year-ago quarter.

Dish will conduct its Q3 earnings call with equity analysts and press at 12 p.m. EST today. 

Daniel Frankel

Daniel Frankel is the managing editor of Next TV, an internet publishing vertical focused on the business of video streaming. A Los Angeles-based writer and editor who has covered the media and technology industries for more than two decades, Daniel has worked on staff for publications including E! Online, Electronic Media, Mediaweek, Variety, paidContent and GigaOm. You can start living a healthier life with greater wealth and prosperity by following Daniel on Twitter today!