Dish Network Corp. said first-quarter profit fell 18% as the
satellite-television provider's higher expenses offset a rise in
revenue.
The results come at a time of significant potential for
consolidation in the pay-TV market, with the two largest cable
companies-- Comcast Corp. and Time Warner Cable Inc.--looking to
merge in a $45 billion deal, and AT&T Inc. recently approaching
DirecTV for a possible tie-up. Dish more than a decade ago
attempted the merge with DirecTV, and Dish CEO Charlie Ergen
recently signaled that his company could consider engaging DirecTV
again.
Dish posted earnings of $175.9 million, or 38 cents a share,
down from $215.6 million, or 47 cents a share, a year earlier.
Revenue rose 6.5% to $3.59 billion, but total costs rose
7.7%.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had projected earnings of 44
cents a share and revenue of $3.58 billion.
Dish, which has struggled to boost its subscriber numbers, added
40,000 net pay-TV subscribers, versus a net gain of 36,000 during
the same period a year earlier. The company ended the period with
about 14.1 million pay-TV subscribers, nearly flat from a year
earlier.
The company also added about 53,000 net broadband subscribers in
the quarter, versus additions of 66,000 in the previous year's
quarter.
Write to Ben Fox Rubin at ben.rubin@wsj.com
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