Dish Network lost about 273,000 net pay TV subscribers in the fourth quarter, compared with a drop of 133,000 in the year-ago period and a decline of 13,000 in the third quarter of the year.
The latest quarter’s figures include subscribers to the traditional Dish pay TV service, as well as the Sling TV streaming service. The company disclosed in a regulatory filing early Thursday that it lost around 70,000 Sling TV subscribers in the latest period, while recording a net decline of about 200,000 traditional satellite TV subscribers.
CEO Erik Carlson on an analyst call pointed to Dish recently reaching a deal to bring Tegna’s 64 stations back to its customers after a carriage dispute, which should restore pay TV subscribers to that platform, and Sling TV will similarly see a rebound in subscriber growth this year, he predicted.
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“Sling is a profitable business that will grow. It’s going to require a little patience. But with the platform overhaul last year, we’re now positioned to be able to innovate and enhance the customer experience with new features,” Carlson said.
The company, also led by chairman Charlie Ergen, ended 2021 with 10.71 million total subscribers, including 8.22 million Dish TV subscribers and 2.49 million Sling TV subscribers. For all of 2021, the Dish satellite TV subscriber base shrunk by 583,000 after a 526,000 drop in 2020.
Sling TV subs grew by 12,000 last year after a drop of 118,000 in 2020. Fourth-quarter earnings, or net income, of $552 million were down 25 compared with $733 million recorded in the same quarter of 2020, but exceeded Wall Street expectations. Quarterly revenue fell 2 percent to $4.45 billion.
For the full year 2021, Dish’s revenue hit $17.88 billion, up from $15.49 billion in 2020. The company’s 2021 net income reached $2.41 billion, compared with $1.76 billion in 2020.
