Dish Network continued to expand its customer losses in the first quarter, which the company attributed to seasonality and poor performance.
The company lost 462,000 net pay-TV subscribers in the three months ended March 31, 10.2 million more than a year ago. Sling TV subscribers dropped to 2.2 million in the quarter, down from 2.5 million a year ago.
Dish also saw a decrease of 343,000 retail wireless subscribers compared to the previous year.
“After the football season, we had a much smaller decline in the number of consumers than expected, but the main thing is that we just didn’t reach the level that we expected,” Dish CEO W. Erik Carlson said in a call.
Dish Network reported net income of $433 million, down from $630 million in the previous quarter. The company reported reduced earnings per share of $0.68, down from $0.99 in the same period in 2021.
Even more shocking for Wall Street was the fact that the company’s free cash flow was negative for the quarter. Company executives attribute the drop to investments in its wireless network.
“The reality is that Dish’s retail satellite TV business is losing subscribers, revenue and EBITDA (Sling TV’s subscriber decline was a particular shock) and its wireless retail business is losing not just subscribers (fast) , but also EBITDA. It turned out to be negative,” the MoffettNathanson team of analysts wrote in a post on Friday.
Shares were down 10 percent on Friday morning.
In addition to seasonality, the company was also involved in a local programming dispute with Tegna. two companies dispute resolved In February, Dish TV managed to broadcast the Super Bowl and the Winter Olympics.
Dish reached a proposed agreement with T-Mobile in February to terminate its 3G CDMA network. The deal, however, is still pending approval by the Justice Department. Carlson said the delay, as well as the loss of subscribers due to the network shutdown on March 31, had a negative impact on Dish Network’s “competitiveness”.
The company is planning an analysts day next week in Las Vegas, during which it is expected to reveal wireless retail plans.
“Our best days, of course, are ahead of us here,” Carlson said on the call.
Source: Hollywood Reporter
Camila Luna is a writer at Gossipify, where she covers the latest movies and television series. With a passion for all things entertainment, Camila brings her unique perspective to her writing and offers readers an inside look at the industry. Camila is a graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in English and is also a avid movie watcher.
