DISH Reports 1Q, Ergen Eyes More HD
EchoStar CEO Charles Ergen, discussing first quarter results during a conference call Thursday, called the company's performance for the three-month period solid, but also a "non-eventful quarter" for the small dish business.
EchoStar's DISH Network added around 325,000 net new subscribers during the first quarter, taking the service to about 11.23 million subscribers as of March 31, the satellite TV company reported.
As for the future, Ergen said EchoStar expects to expand DISH Network's lineup of VOOM channels at the beginning of next year. At the moment, DISH Network has 10 of the 21 VOOM HD originals available from satellite capacity at the 61.5-degree location. Ergen said DISH Network could carry all 21 VOOM originals at the start of 2006.
Ergen also said EchoStar is looking at the launch of local TV services in high-def, but he added that the debut of those offerings is a 2006 event. Before launching more HD, EchoStar needs to develop more volumes of product with MPEG 4 capabilities, Ergen said.
But once the product is out "we can compete very well," the CEO said.
Ergen said that initially DISH Network could offer 20 markets with local HD, and maybe as many as 30 local high-def markets. National channels in high-def also are being considered, he added. The company will launch satellites next year and in 2007 that will provide extra capacity for the services, Ergen said.
As for the company's continuing litigation with TiVo, Ergen said he's confident EchoStar will prevail in court. And he said EchoStar continues work on a broadband product, but there are a few more hurdles before the offering is available to consumers.
Also, the company confirmed that SBC plans to "de-emphasize" its sales of DISH Network.
For the first quarter, EchoStar said total revenue was $2.02 billion, a 28 percent increase compared with $1.58 billion for the corresponding period in 2004. Net income was $318 million for the quarter, compared with a net loss of $43 million for the same quarter in 2004.
http://www.skyreport.com (Used with permission)
Dish earnings conference call highlights
