Dish TV and Sling TV combined for a loss of 380,000 subscribers (7.78 million to “approximately” 7.4 million) in the first quarter of 2025, their shared parent company Echostar revealed in its Friday morning earnings release.The pay TV segment’s revenue decreased from $2.7 billion in the comparable 2024 quarter to $2.5 billion (down 7.4 percent), which Echostar says was “in line with expectations.” The segment’s operating income slipped from $670 million to $653 million (down 2.5 percent); before depreciation and amortization, the decline was from $756 million to $730 million (down 3.4 percent).Average revenue per user (ARPU) increased three percent, and Dish TV specifically saw its lowest churn (1.36 percent) in over a decade, the company touted, though that time period excludes the COVID-19 pandemic. Dish TV churn reduced by a rate of 11 percent vs. the Q1 2024.All told, Echostar lost a bit north of $200 million in the quarter, or 71 cents per share, as its wireless (Boost Mobile, basically) business continued to lose money. Wall Street expected a loss of 90 cents per share; Echostar also topped media analysts’ revenue forecasts of $3.86 billion by posting $3.87 billion.Hamid Akhavan, the president and CEO of Echostar, said he’ll take it, basically.“The EchoStar team performed well against our plan in the first quarter,” Akhavan said in a statement accompanying the company’s financial release. “We are pleased with the progress of our Wireless business and year-over-year net add subscriber growth. In addition, our Pay-TV segment continues to drive improvements in ARPU and churn, and our in-flight connectivity business advances, scaling and driving interest from airlines worldwide.”Echostar acquired Dish Network in 2023. Fellow satellite-TV company DirecTV was set to acquire Dish last year, which would have created the largest U.S. pay-TV provider. The deal was abandoned after Dish lenders turned down a debt-exchange offer.“While we believed a combination of DirecTV and Dish would have benefitted all stakeholders, we have terminated the transaction because the proposed Exchange Terms were necessary to protect DirecTV’s balance sheet and our operational flexibility,” DirecTV CEO Bill Morrow said at the time. “DirecTV will advance our mission to aggregate, curate and distribute content tailored to customers’ interests by pursuing innovative products and providing customers with additional choice, flexibility and control. We are well positioned for the future with a strong balance sheet and support from our long-term partner TPG.”
© 2025 The Hollywood Reporter.