DISH Network reported quarterly results today and they weren’t pretty. For the second quarter in a row, DISH actually lost subscribers – 10K last quarter, compared with 25K in 2Q08. In an environment where most cable and telcoTV providers continue to see growth in digital subs, DISH is the odd man out, and is apparently falling victim to their competitor’s prowess. Factors including a bad economy and DISH’s loss of AT&T as a distribution partner which impacts them long before the formal partnership actually ends in February 2009 played a role. The lack of a true triple play bundle is apparently hurting them more than their main competitor, DirecTV, who added 156K subscribers during the same quarter. What’s more disturbing for DISH is if they can’t gain subscribers at their competitor’s expense given their “value” reputation in tough economic times, when can they? DISH says they’ll have to increase their marketing efforts to turn things around. Will that be enough?
