DISH Network revenue drops as it lost subscribers in Q2

DISH Network reported 5 percent drop in revenue to $3.46 billion and net income of $439 million as the company lost millions of subscribers in Q2 2018.
Dish Network SprintThe latest financial performance of DISH Network is comparable against revenue of $3.64 billion revenue and net income of $40 million in Q1 2017.

DISH Network’s Pay-TV subscriber base fell to 12.997 million from 13.332 million at the end of second quarter 2017. The latest subscriber base of DISH Network includes 10.653 million DISH TV subscribers and 2.344 million Sling TV subscribers.

The satellite TV provider said Pay-TV subscribers fell approximately 151,000 subscribers in the second quarter, compared to a decline of approximately 196,000 in the second quarter 2017.

DISH TV subscribers dropped approximately 192,000 and Sling TV subscribers increased approximately 41,000. DISH TV’s average monthly subscriber churn rate was 1.46 percent versus 1.83 percent for second quarter 2017.

Dish has struggled to stop losses from cord-cutting as TV viewers increasingly move to online video streaming services, Reuters reported.

Dish Network has tried to attract younger viewers to its $25-per-month streaming service Sling TV. Analysts have said Sling TV has not replaced lost profits in Dish’s satellite business. Sling TV added 41,000 subscribers during the quarter, reaching a total of 2.34 million customers.

Dish has also been acquiring wireless spectrum to enter the wireless market to compete with AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, etc. The company is under pressure to build a network using the spectrum before the licenses expire.