The satcaster said it added 35,000 net subscribers in the first quarter, compared to 310,000 in the same period last year. Dish Network now has 13.8 million subscribers, more than three million less than rival DIRECTV, which now has 17 million.
DIRECTV last week reported that it added 275,000 net subscribers in the first quarter, crediting in part the company's high-def channel expansion. The nation's largest satellite TV service last fall increased its national HD lineup from nine to what is now 95 channels.
Dish Network said yesterday that the company will add 22 high-def channels this week, but the satcaster last night removed 10 Voom HD channels from the lineup, making the sum gain only 12. With the 10 Voom channels gone, Dish now offers around 85 national HD channels.
Dish Network officials earlier this year said the company's failure to add more high-def channels in 2007 hurt its subscription efforts.
In its first quarter report, Dish Network cited the sagging economy and increasing competition from telcos such as AT&T and Verizon as reasons for the first quarter sub growth decline.
“We believe our gross new subscriber additions have been and are likely to continue to be negatively impacted by competitive factors, including the expansion of fiber-based pay TV providers, the effectiveness of certain competitors’ promotional offers and market perceptions of the availability of attractive programming, particularly the relative quantity of HD programming offered,” Dish Network said.
Despite the sub growth problem, Dish said its net profit increased to $258.6 million in the first quarter, compared to $157 million in last year's first quarter.
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