EchoStar CORP: Form 10-Q for the period ended Mar 31, 2024

SLING TV subscribers. We lost approximately 135,000 net SLING TV subscribers during the three months ended March 31, 2024 compared to the loss of approximately 234,000 net SLING TV subscribers during the same period in 2023. The decrease in net SLING TV subscriber losses was primarily related to lower SLING TV subscriber disconnects in 2024 due to our emphasis on acquiring higher quality subscribers, partially offset by lower SLING TV subscriber activations. We continue to experience increased competition, including competition from other subscription video on-demand and live-linear OTT service providers, many of which are providers of our content and offer football and other seasonal sports programming direct to subscribers on an a la carte basis.

DISH TV subscribers, gross. During the three months ended March 31, 2024, we activated approximately 79,000 gross new DISH TV subscribers compared to approximately 113,000 gross new DISH TV subscribers during the same period in 2023, a decrease of 30.1%. This decrease in our gross new DISH TV subscriber activations was primarily related to the lack of demand, shifting consumer behavior and lower marketing expenditures, as well as increased competitive pressures, including, but not limited to, live-linear OTT service providers, aggressive short term introductory pricing and bundled offers combining broadband, video and/or wireless services and other discounted promotional offers, and direct-to-consumer offerings by certain of our programmers. Our gross new DISH TV subscriber activations continue to be negatively impacted by an emphasis on acquiring higher quality subscribers.

DISH TV churn rate. Our DISH TV churn rate for the three months ended March 31, 2024 was 1.53% compared to 1.98% for the same period in 2023. Our DISH TV churn rate for the three months ended March 31, 2024 was positively impacted by our emphasis on acquiring and retaining higher quality subscribers. Our DISH TV churn rate continues to be adversely impacted by external factors, such as, among other things, cord cutting, shifting consumer behavior and increased competitive pressures, including, but not limited to, live-linear OTT service providers, aggressive marketing, bundled discount offers combining broadband, video and/or wireless services and other discounted promotional offers. Our DISH TV churn rate is also impacted by internal factors, such as, among other things, our ability to consistently provide outstanding customer service, price increases, our ability to control piracy and other forms of fraud and the level of our retention efforts. In addition, our DISH TV churn rate for the three months ended March 31, 2023 was briefly elevated due to the cyber-security incident.

Our net Pay-TV subscriber additions, gross new DISH TV subscriber activations and DISH TV churn rate have been negatively impacted as a result of programming interruptions and threatened programming interruptions in connection with the scheduled expiration of programming carriage contracts with content providers. We cannot predict with any certainty the impact to our net Pay-TV subscriber additions, gross new DISH TV subscriber activations and DISH TV subscriber churn rate resulting from programming interruptions or threatened programming interruptions that may occur in the future. As a result, we may at times suffer from periods of lower net Pay-TV subscriber additions or higher net Pay-TV subscriber losses.

We have not always met our own standards for performing high-quality installations, effectively resolving subscriber issues when they arise, answering subscriber calls in an acceptable timeframe, effectively communicating with our subscriber base, reducing calls driven by the complexity of our business, improving the reliability of certain systems and subscriber equipment and aligning the interests of certain independent third-party retailers and installers to provide high-quality service. Most of these factors have affected both gross new DISH TV subscriber activations as well as DISH TV subscriber churn rate. Our future gross new DISH TV subscriber activations and our DISH TV subscriber churn rate may be negatively impacted by these factors, which could in turn adversely affect our revenue.

***Service revenue. “***Service revenue” totaled $2.701 billion for the three months ended March 31, 2024, a decrease of $243 million or 8.3% compared to the same period in 2023. The decrease in “Service revenue” compared to the same period in 2023 was primarily related to lower average Pay-TV subscriber base, partially offset by an increase in Pay-TV ARPU, discussed below.

There have been no material changes in our market risk during the three months ended March 31, 2024. For additional information, see Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk in Part II of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023.

Conclusion regarding disclosure controls and procedures

Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer, we evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) as of the end of the period covered by this report. Based upon that evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of the end of the period covered by this report.

Changes in internal control over financial reporting

There has been no change in our internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 13a-15(f) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) during our most recent fiscal quarter that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.