DISH Network pay TV subscribers down 552,000 in 1Q 2023

DISH Network Reports First Quarter 2023 Financial Results

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — DISH Network Corporation (NASDAQ: DISH) reported revenue totaling $3.96 billion for the quarter ending March 31, 2023, compared to $4.33 billion for the corresponding period in 2022.

Net income attributable to DISH Network totaled $223 million for the first quarter 2023, compared to $433 million for the year-ago quarter.

Diluted earnings per share were $0.35 for the first quarter, compared to $0.68 per share during the same period in 2022.

Pay-TV

Net pay-TV subscribers decreased approximately 552,000 in the first quarter, compared to a decrease of approximately 462,000 in the year-ago quarter.

The company closed the quarter with 9.20 million pay-TV subscribers, including 7.10 million DISH TV subscribers and 2.10 million SLING TV subscribers.

Wireless

Retail wireless net subscribers decreased by approximately 81,000 in the first quarter, compared to a net decrease of 343,000 in the year-ago quarter.

The company closed the quarter with 7.91 million retail wireless subscribers.

Additional Details

Detailed financial data and other information are available in DISH Network’s Form 10-Q for the quarter ending March 31, 2023, filed today with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Quarterly Metrics

                     Q1 2023  Q4 2022  Q3 2022  Q2 2022  Q1 2022  Q4 2021  Q3 2021  Q2 2021
                     -------  -------  -------  -------  -------  -------  -------  -------
Subscribers, as of period end (in millions)
 Pay-TV                9.198    9.750   10.018    9.988   10.245   10.707   10.980   10.993
  DISH TV              7.098    7.416    7.607    7.791    7.993    8.221    8.424    8.554
  Sling TV             2.100    2.334    2.411    2.197    2.252    2.486    2.556    2.439

Subscriber additions (losses), net (in millions)
 Pay-TV              (0.552)  (0.268)    0.030  (0.257)  (0.462)  (0.273)  (0.013)  (0.067)
  DISH TV            (0.318)  (0.191)  (0.184)  (0.202)  (0.228)  (0.203)  (0.130)  (0.132)
  Sling TV           (0.234)  (0.077)    0.214  (0.055)  (0.234)  (0.070)    0.117    0.065

Pay-TV ARPU          $102.71  $102.08  $102.07  $101.30   $99.44   $97.53   $96.31   $96.32

Subscriber additions, gross (in millions)
 DISH TV               0.113    0.149    0.170    0.156    0.159    0.200    0.224    0.201

DISH TV churn rate     1.98%    1.51%    1.53%    1.51%    1.59%    1.61%    1.39%    1.29%
DISH TV SAC           $1,055   $1,081   $1,029     $980   $1,088     $789     $824     $890

Wireless subscribers (in millions)
 As of period end*     7.913    7.983    8.007    7.867    8.203    8.546    8.774    8.895
Wireless subscriber additions (losses) (in millions)
 Gross                 0.785    0.938    0.891    0.793    0.796    0.826    0.888    0.944
 Net                 (0.081)  (0.024)    0.001  (0.210)  (0.343)  (0.245)  (0.121)  (0.201)
Wireless ARPU         $36.43   $37.61   $37.64   $37.90   $37.72   $38.76   $39.25   $39.10
Wireless churn rate    4.24%    4.57%    4.28%    4.39%    4.64%    4.95%    4.67%    4.33%

* 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.