Today, DISH announced its 3rd quarter 2023 earnings and reported that DISH and Sling TV lost 64,000 subscribers. This is great news as Sling TV has turned around recent losses and added customers in the 3rd quarter of 2023.
Sling TV added 117,000, and DISH lost 181,000 subscribers. In total, DISH now has 8,840,000 pay TV customers between the two brands, down from 8,904,000 during the same period in 2022. Sling TV now has 2.12 million subscribers, and DISH has 6.72 million subscribers.
This comes as DISH reported losing 294,000 Sling TV and DISH customers in the 2nd quarter of 2023. It seems that the start of fall TV, NFL Football, and college football has helped DISH add subscribers to Sling TV. DISH also reported it had 7.50 million wireless subscribers. In total, Wireless subscribers dropped 225,00 in the 2nd quarter.
In total, DISH Network lost $139 million in the 3rd quarter of 2023, which is down from the $412 million they lost in the same period in 2023. This comes as DISH spends big to build out its 5G network.
This news comes as DISH announced a deal to merge with EchoStar during the 3rd quarter. This move in the end, brings the two companies back together. In 2008, EchoStar Communications was renamed to DISH Network, and EchoStar Corp was spun off into its own technology company.
Now as DISH moves to become a wireless phone company to compete with AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon, merging the companies could help it do just that. DISH reportedly needs $3 billion to meet a 2025 deadline from the FCC to offer service to 75% of Americans.
This all comes as DISH recently reached a deal with Amazon to promote its $25 Boost Infinite wireless plans to Amazon Prime members. This comes as DISH is now the 4th largest wireless provider in the United States behind Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile.
DISH will hold a press conference at 12 am Eastern to make a presentation on the newly combined companies.