Dish Network Highlights Sling TV Subscribers as Pay-TV Declines -- Update

By Imani Moise 

Dish Network Corp. disclosed how many Sling TV subscribers it has for the first time as the company looks to assure investors it can grow in new businesses while customers continue to drop their traditional television packages.

On Wednesday the company said Sling TV, its online-only pay-TV package, had 2.2 million subscribers. As of December, several analysts estimated that the service had well over 1 million paying subscribers.

Dish launched the streaming service over two years ago in an attempt to lure younger viewers and people who aren't subscribing to regular cable.

The number of Sling TV customers grew 47% the year-ago period but wasn't enough to offset a 9.4% decline in satellite TV subscribers. The company finished the quarter with a total 13.2 million subscribers including Sling and satellite customers, down from 13.7 million subscribers last year. In the fourth quarter, total satellite subscribers fell by 121,000 despite adding 399,000 new customers.

The company finished the quarter with a total 13.2 million subscribers including its regular satellite customers, down from 13.7 million subscribers last year.

Overall for the quarter, Dish reported earnings of $1.39 billion, or $2.64 a share, up from $355 million, or 73 cents a share a year earlier. The period was helped by a $1.2 billion benefit related to the recently enacted tax overhaul.

Revenue fell 7.8% to $3.48 billion, missing the $3.53 billion forecast by Thomson Reuters.

Shares, inactive premarket, have fallen 29% over the past year.

Write to Imani Moise at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 21, 2018 08:29 ET (13:29 GMT)

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