DISH Network pay TV subscribers down 268,000 in 4Q 2022

DISH Network Reports Fourth Quarter, Year-end 2022 Financial Results

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — DISH Network Corporation (NASDAQ: DISH) reported revenue totaling $4.04 billion for the quarter ending December 31, 2022, compared to $4.45 billion for the corresponding period in 2021.

Net income attributable to DISH Network totaled $936 million for the fourth quarter 2022, compared to $552 million from the year-ago quarter. Diluted earnings per share were $1.47 for the fourth quarter, compared to $0.87 per share during the same period in 2021.

Pay-TV

Net pay-TV subscribers decreased approximately 268,000 in the fourth quarter, compared to a decrease of approximately 273,000 in the year-ago quarter.

The company closed the quarter with 9.75 million pay-TV subscribers, including 7.42 million DISH TV subscribers and 2.33 million SLING TV subscribers.

Wireless

Retail wireless net subscribers decreased by approximately 24,000 in the fourth quarter, compared to a net decrease of 245,000 in the year-ago quarter.

The company closed the quarter with 7.98 million retail wireless subscribers.

Full-Year 2022 Review

For the year, DISH reported 2022 total revenue of $16.68 billion, compared to $17.88 billion in 2021.

Net income attributable to DISH Network in 2022 was $2.30 billion, compared to $2.41 billion in 2021. Diluted earnings per share were $3.61 in 2022, compared to $3.79 in 2021.

Detailed financial data and other information are available in DISH Network’s Form 10-K for the year ending December 31, 2022, filed today with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Quarterly Metrics

                     Q4 2022  Q3 2022  Q2 2022  Q1 2022  Q4 2021  Q3 2021  Q2 2021  Q1 2021
                     -------  -------  -------  -------  -------  -------  -------  -------
Subscribers, as of period end (in millions)
 Pay-TV                9.750   10.018    9.988   10.245   10.707   10.980   10.993   11.060
  DISH TV              7.416    7.607    7.791    7.993    8.221    8.424    8.554    8.686
  Sling TV             2.334    2.411    2.197    2.252    2.486    2.556    2.439    2.374

Subscriber additions (losses), net (in millions)
 Pay-TV              (0.268)    0.030  (0.257)  (0.462)  (0.273)  (0.013)  (0.067)  (0.230)
  DISH TV            (0.191)  (0.184)  (0.202)  (0.228)  (0.203)  (0.130)  (0.132)  (0.130)
  Sling TV           (0.077)    0.214  (0.055)  (0.234)  (0.070)    0.117    0.065  (0.100)

Pay-TV ARPU          $102.08  $102.07  $101.30   $99.44   $97.53   $96.31   $96.32   $93.63

Subscriber additions, gross (in millions)
 DISH TV               0.149    0.170    0.156    0.159    0.200    0.224    0.201    0.210

DISH TV churn rate     1.51%    1.53%    1.51%    1.59%    1.61%    1.39%    1.29%    1.30%
DISH TV SAC           $1,081   $1,029     $980   $1,088     $789     $824     $890     $790

Wireless subscribers (in millions)
 As of period end*     7.983    8.007    7.867    8.203    8.546    8.774    8.895    8.894
Wireless subscriber additions (losses) (in millions)
 Gross                 0.938    0.891    0.793    0.796    0.826    0.888    0.944    1.032
 Net                 (0.024)    0.001  (0.210)  (0.343)  (0.245)  (0.121)  (0.201)  (0.161)
Wireless ARPU         $37.61   $37.64   $37.90   $37.72   $38.76   $39.25   $39.10   $38.89
Wireless churn rate    4.57%    4.28%    4.39%    4.64%    4.95%    4.67%    4.33%    4.44%

* During the third quarter of 2022, T-Mobile transferred approximately 139,000 wireless subscribers to DISH representing all Boost-branded customers of former Sprint affiliates Shentel and Swiftel, as well as Boost-branded customers who were previously part of the California Public Utilities Commission CARE program. The 139,000 subscribers are included in DISH’s ending Wireless subscriber count and excluded from DISH’s gross new Wireless subscriber activations. In addition, during the second quarter of 2022, DISH removed approximately 126,000 subscribers from its ending Wireless subscriber count representing wireless subscribers who did not migrate off T-Mobile’s CDMA Network prior to the shutdown. The effect of the removal of the 126,000 subscribers was excluded from the calculation of DISH’s net Wireless subscriber additions/losses and Wireless churn rate. During the second quarter of 2021, DISH acquired over 200,000 subscribers as a result of the Republic Wireless Acquisition, which are included in DISH’s ending Wireless subscriber count and excluded from DISH’s gross new Wireless subscriber activations for that period.