DISH has been in the news recently for their ultra hi-def programming, but today the news isn’t as positive. Friday morning, DISH Network was forced to remove from its lineup four broadcast stations scattered throughout the Midwest due to a carriage dispute with a broadcaster. Citadel Communications stations that are dropped from DISH are ABC affiliate WOI in Des Moines, Iowa, ABC affiliate KCAU in Sioux City, Iowa, CBS affiliate WHBF in the Quad Cities area in Illinois and Iowa, and ABC affiliate KLKN in Lincoln, Nebraska. Essentially DISH said Citadel is too demanding and Citadel told viewers that its offer to DISH is to be fairly compensated for the re-distribution of their on-air programming.
More Dropped DISHesAlso on Friday, DISH Network discontinued carriage of GolTV, the all-soccer channel. DISH removed GolTV from its America’s Top 250 and DishLATINO programming packages, which was not well received, especially since the shutdown came before GolTV’s broadcast of the Emirates Cup taking place this weekend in London. The programmer also has access to 2010 World Cup qualifying matches and games played within Spain’s La Liga and Germany’s Bundesliga. DISH said they tried to reach an agreement with GolTV, but the network refused to deliver an offer for carriage that fairly reflects its overall ratings performance and value. DISH said soccer fans can catch action on Fox Soccer Channel and ESPN Deportes, and DishLATINO customers can get a 60-day free preview of Setanta Sports. Also, America’s Top 250 customers will have free access to English Premier League soccer the weekend of August 15. In addition, DISH Network said it is providing a free preview of Fox Sports en Espanol for customers who subscribe to America’s Top 250. DishLATINO customers already receive that channel.
DISH Declines
At the end of a three month period, DISH Network reported today that it lost about 25,000 net subscribers in the second quarter, bringing the customer total to 13.79 million. This compares to the first quarter in which DISH Network reported that it netted 35,000 customers, for a total of 13.815 million. In second quarter 2007, the company added 170,000 net new subscribers, ending the period with approximately 13.585 million subscribers. Revenue totaled $2.91 billion for second quarter 2008, a 5.6 percent increase when compared to $2.76 billion for the corresponding period in 2007. Net income for the second quarter was $336 million, compared to $224 million for the corresponding period in 2007.
