DOW JONES NEWSWIRES Dish Network Corp. (DISH) appointed former Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. (SIRI) Chairman and Chief Executive Joseph P. Clayton as its president and chief executive as the second-largest U.S. satellite-television provider looks to shift its strategy to maintain more subscribers. "Joe is a 38-year veteran of the consumer electronics, telecommunications and satellite communications industries and I am pleased to have him lead DISH Network as president and CEO," Chairman Charles W. Ergen said. "Joe brings an enormous amount of executive-level experience in the satellite and consumer electronics industries." The move, effective June 20, fills a vacancy left by Ergen, who was previously president and CEO. Ergen will stay on as chairman. Clayton previously served as Sirius' CEO from 2001 to 2004 and as its chairman from 2004 to 2008. Before that, he served as president of Global Crossing North America, as president and chief executive of Frontier Corp. and as Thomson S.A.'s marketing executive for the Americas and Asia. Dish has recently shifted its strategy by attempting to attract more affluent customers who are willing to spend more each month on video and less likely to cancel their service, emulating rival DirecTV Group Inc. (DTV). Dish and former subsidiary EchoStar Corp. (SATS) earlier this month ended a seven-year patent dispute with TiVo Inc. (TIVO) over digital video recorder technology by agreeing to pay TiVo $500 million. At the same time, the company said its first-quarter profit more than doubled from a year earlier, and it reported subscriber growth for the first time since the second quarter of 2010. Dish shares closed Friday at $28.81 and were inactive premarket. The stock is up 47% so far this year. -By Drew FitzGerald, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2909; Andrew.FitzGerald@dowjones.com
