EDGAR 10-K Filing

Company CIK: 1042642
Filing Year: 2025
Filename: 1042642_10-K_2025_0001558370-25-003292.json

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ITEM 1. BUSINESS
Item 1. BUSINESS
Brief Description of our Business
DISH DBS is a holding company that was organized in 1996 as a corporation under the laws of the State of Colorado. Its subsidiaries, together with DISH DBS Corporation, are referred to as “DISH DBS,” “DDBS,” the “Company,” “we,” “us” and/or “our,” unless otherwise required by the context. DISH DBS is an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of DISH Network, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of EchoStar Corporation (“EchoStar”), a publicly traded company listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market (“NASDAQ”) under the symbol “SATS.” Our principal executive offices are located at 9601 South Meridian Boulevard, Englewood, Colorado 80112 and our telephone number is (303) 723-1000. We refer readers of this report to EchoStar’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024. Our subsidiaries operate one business segment.
Merger with EchoStar
On December 31, 2023, EchoStar completed the acquisition of DISH Network pursuant to the Amended and Restated Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of October 2, 2023 (the “Amended Merger Agreement”), by and among EchoStar, EAV Corp., a Nevada corporation and its wholly owned subsidiary (“Merger Sub”), and DISH Network, our parent, pursuant to which EchoStar acquired DISH Network by means of the merger of Merger Sub with and into DISH Network (the “Merger”), with DISH Network surviving the Merger as EchoStar’s wholly owned subsidiary. For further information, refer to the Consolidated Financial Statements and notes thereto included in EchoStar’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023.
Recent Developments
DIRECTV Transaction
On September 29, 2024, EchoStar and DIRECTV Holdings, LLC (“DTV”) entered into an Equity Purchase Agreement (the “Purchase Agreement”). Pursuant to the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Purchase Agreement, DTV agreed to acquire from EchoStar all of the issued and outstanding equity interests of DISH DBS, which operates its Pay-TV business.
Following written notice from DTV received on November 20, 2024, DTV terminated the Purchase Agreement effective at 11:59 pm ET on November 22, 2024 pursuant to Section 7.01(a)(iv) of the Purchase Agreement because the DISH DBS Exchange Offers (as defined in Note 8 in the Notes to our Consolidated Financial Statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K) were not consummated by the Exchange Offer Settlement Date (as defined in the Purchase Agreement). No termination fee or other payment was due from either party to the other as a result of the termination of the Purchase Agreement.
Pay-TV
We offer pay-TV services under the DISH® brand and the SLING® brand (collectively “Pay-TV” services). The DISH branded pay-TV service consists of, among other things, FCC licenses authorizing us to use direct broadcast satellite (“DBS”) and Fixed Satellite Service (“FSS”) spectrum, our owned and leased satellites, receiver systems, broadcast operations, a leased fiber optic network, in-home service and call center operations and certain other assets utilized in our operations (“DISH TV”).
We also design, develop and distribute receiver systems and provide digital broadcast operations, including satellite uplinking/downlinking, transmission and other services to third-party pay-TV providers. The SLING branded pay-TV services consist of, among other things, multichannel, live-linear and on-demand streaming over-the-top (“OTT”) Internet-based domestic, international, Latino and Freestream video programming services (“SLING TV”). As of December 31, 2024, we had 7.778 million Pay-TV subscribers in the United States, including 5.686 million DISH TV subscribers and 2.092 million SLING TV subscribers.
Business Strategy
Our Pay-TV business strategy is to be the best provider of video services in the United States by providing products with the best technology, outstanding customer service, and great value. We promote our Pay-TV services by providing our subscribers with a better “price-to-value” relationship and experience than those available from other subscription television service providers. We market our SLING TV services to consumers who do not subscribe to traditional satellite and cable pay-TV services, as well as to current and recent traditional pay-TV subscribers who desire a lower cost alternative.
● Products with the Best Technology. We offer a wide selection of local and national HD programming and are a technology leader in our industry, offering award-winning DVRs (including our Hopper® whole-home HD DVR), multiple tuner receivers, video on demand and external hard drives. We offer several SLING TV services, including SLING Orange (our single-stream SLING domestic service), SLING Blue (our multi-stream SLING domestic service), International, Latino and Freestream, among others, as well as add-on extras, direct to consumer services, pay-per-view events and a cloud-based DVR service.
● Outstanding Customer Service. We strive to provide outstanding customer service by, among other things, improving the quality of the initial installation of subscriber equipment, improving the reliability of our equipment, better educating our customers about our products and services, and resolving customer problems promptly and effectively when they arise.
● Great Value. We have historically been viewed as the low-cost provider in the pay-TV industry in the United States. However, today with DISH TV, we are focused on a message of Service, Value and Technology. We also offer a differentiated customer experience with our award-winning Hopper® platform that integrates voice control, access to apps including Netflix, Prime Video and YouTube and the ability to watch live, recorded and On Demand content anywhere with the DISH Anywhere mobile application. As another example, our SLING Orange service and our SLING Blue service are two of the lowest priced live-linear online streaming services in the industry.
WEBSITE ACCESS
We voluntarily file with the SEC and are not subject to the informational requirements of Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act. Our SEC filings may be accessed free of charge through the website of our ultimate parent, EchoStar, as soon as reasonably practicable after we have electronically filed such material with, or furnished it to, the SEC. The address of that website is https://ir.echostar.com/.

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ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
Item 1A. RISK FACTORS
The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones facing us. If any of the following events occur or evolve in a way different than expected, our business, financial condition, or results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.
Competition and Economic Risks
We face intense and increasing competition from providers of video, broadband and/or wireless services, which may require us to further increase subscriber acquisition and retention spending or accept lower subscriber activations and higher subscriber churn.
Our Pay-TV business faces substantial competition from established pay-TV providers and broadband service providers and increasing competition from companies providing/facilitating the delivery of video content via the Internet to computers, televisions and other streaming and mobile devices, including, but not limited to, wireless service providers. In recent years, the traditional pay-TV industry has matured, and industry consolidation and convergence have created competitors with greater scale and multiple product/service offerings. Some of these services charge nominal or no fees for access to their content, which could adversely affect demand for our Pay-TV services. Moreover, new technologies have been, and will likely continue to be, developed that further increase the number of competitors we face with respect to video services, including, but not limited to, competition from piracy-based video offerings. These developments, among others, have contributed to intense and increasing competition, which we expect to continue.
We face increasing competition from content providers and other companies who distribute video directly to consumers over the Internet. These content providers and other companies, as well as traditional satellite television providers, cable companies and large telecommunication companies, are rapidly increasing their Internet-based video offerings. See “Item 7. Management’s Narrative Analysis of Results of Operations - Trends - Competition” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further information.
Mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and alliances among cable television providers, telecommunications companies, programming providers and others may result in, among other things, greater scale and financial leverage and increase the availability of offerings from providers capable of bundling video, broadband and/or wireless services in competition with our services and may exacerbate the risks described herein. Such providers may be able to, among other things, utilize their increased leverage over third-party content owners and programmers to withhold online rights from us and reduce the price they pay for programming at the expense of other MVPDs, including us; underutilize key orbital spectrum resources that could be more efficiently used by us; foreclose or degrade our online video offerings at various points in the broadband pipe; and impose data caps on consumers who access our online video offerings. See “Item 7. Management’s Narrative Analysis of Results of Operations - Trends - Programming” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further information.
We believe that the availability and extent of programming, including, but not limited to, unique programming services such as foreign language, sports programming and original content, and other value-added services such as access to video via mobile devices, continue to be significant factors in consumers’ choice among pay-TV providers. Other pay-TV providers may have more successfully marketed and promoted their programming packages and value-added services and may also be better equipped and have greater resources to increase their programming offerings and value-added services to respond to increasing consumer demand. We may be required to make substantial additional investments in infrastructure to respond to competitive pressure to deliver enhanced programming and other value-added services, and there can be no assurance that we will be able to compete effectively with offerings from other pay-TV providers.
Furthermore, this increasingly competitive environment may require us to increase subscriber acquisition and retention spending or accept lower subscriber activations and higher subscriber churn. Increasingly, we must seek to attract a greater proportion of new subscribers from our competitors’ existing subscriber bases rather than from first-time purchasers of pay-TV services. In addition, because other pay-TV providers may be seeking to attract a greater proportion of their new subscribers from our existing subscriber base, we may be required to increase retention spending and/or provide greater discounts or credits to acquire and retain subscribers who may spend less on our services. Our SLING TV subscribers on average purchase lower-priced programming services than do DISH TV subscribers. Accordingly, an increase in SLING TV subscribers has a negative impact on our Pay-TV average monthly revenue per subscriber (“Pay-TV ARPU”). If our Pay-TV ARPU decreases or does not increase commensurate with increases in programming or other costs, our margins may be reduced and the long-term value of a subscriber would then decrease and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
In addition, as a result of this increased competitive environment and the maturation of the pay-TV industry, future growth opportunities of our DISH TV business may be limited and our margins may be reduced, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. Our gross new DISH TV subscriber activations continue to be negatively impacted by stricter subscriber acquisition policies (including, but not limited to, a focus on attaining higher quality subscribers) and increased competitive pressures, including, but not limited to, aggressive marketing, more aggressive retention efforts, bundled discount offers combining broadband, video and/or wireless services and other discounted promotional offers. In addition, we face increased competitive pressures from content providers and other companies who distribute video directly to consumers over the Internet. These content providers and other companies, as well as traditional satellite television providers, cable companies and large telecommunication companies, are rapidly increasing their Internet-based video offerings and direct-to-consumer exclusive and non-exclusive content. There can be no assurance that our gross new DISH TV subscriber activations, net DISH TV subscriber additions, and DISH TV churn rate will not continue to be negatively impacted and that the pace of such negative impact will not accelerate. In the event that our DISH TV subscriber base continues to decline or such decline accelerates, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Changing consumer behavior and new technologies in our Pay-TV business may reduce our subscriber activations and may cause our subscribers to purchase fewer services from us or to cancel our services altogether, resulting in less revenue to us.
New technologies, products and services are driving rapid changes in consumer behavior as consumers seek more control over when, where and how they consume content and access communication services. In particular, through technological advancements and with the large increase in the number of consumers with broadband service, a significant amount of video content has become available through online content providers for users to stream and view on their personal computers, televisions, phones, tablets, video game consoles and other devices, in some cases without a fee required to access the content. While our subscribers can use their traditional video subscription to access mobile programming, an increasing number of subscribers are also using mobile devices as the sole means of viewing video, and an increasing number of non-traditional video providers is developing content and technologies to satisfy that demand. For example, these technological advancements, changes in consumer behavior, and the increasing number of choices available to consumers regarding the means by which consumers obtain video content may cause DISH TV subscribers to disconnect our services (“cord cutting”), downgrade to smaller, less expensive programming packages (“cord shaving”) or elect to purchase through online content providers a certain portion of the services that they would have historically purchased from us. These technological advancements and changes in consumer behavior and/or our failure to effectively anticipate or adapt to such changes, could reduce our gross new Pay-TV subscriber activations and increase our subscriber churn rate and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
New technologies could also create new competitors for us. For instance, we face increasing consumer demand for the delivery of digital video services via the Internet. We expect to continue to face increased competition from companies who use the Internet to deliver digital video services as the speed and quality of broadband and wireless networks continue to improve.
Our pay-TV competitors may be able to leverage their relationships with programmers to reduce their programming costs and/or offer exclusive content that will place them at a competitive advantage to us.
The cost of programming represents the largest percentage of our overall Pay-TV costs. Certain of our competitors own directly, partner with and/or are affiliated with companies that own programming content that may enable them to obtain lower programming costs or offer exclusive programming that may be attractive to prospective or existing subscribers. Unlike our larger cable and satellite competitors, some of which also provide internet or broadband based pay-TV services, we have not made significant investments in programming providers. In addition, certain programmers have begun offering a greater amount of their content on a direct-to-consumer basis, including, but not limited to, exclusive and non-exclusive content. As a result, it may be more difficult for us to obtain access to such programming networks on nondiscriminatory and fair terms, or at all. See “Item 1. Business - Government Regulations - FCC Regulations Applicable to Our Operations - Cable Act and Program Access” in EchoStar’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024 for further information.
Changes in how network operators handle and charge for access to data that travels across their networks could adversely impact our Pay-TV business.
With respect to our Pay-TV business, we rely upon the ability of consumers to access our SLING TV services and certain DISH TV functionality through the Internet. If network operators block, restrict, slow-down or throttle or otherwise impair access to our services over their networks, our business could be negatively affected. To the extent that network operators implement usage-based pricing including, but not limited to, meaningful bandwidth caps, or otherwise try to monetize access to their networks by data providers, we could incur greater operating expenses and our SLING TV subscriber count could be negatively impacted. Furthermore, to the extent network operators create tiers of Internet access service and either charge us for or prohibit us from being available through these tiers, our SLING TV business could be negatively impacted.
In addition, many network operators that provide consumers with broadband service also provide these consumers with video programming, and these network operators may have an incentive to use their network infrastructure in a manner adverse to our continued growth and success. These risks may be exacerbated to the extent network operators are able to provide preferential treatment to their data, including, for example, by offering wireless subscribers access to owned or preferred video content over the Internet without counting against a subscriber’s monthly data caps, which may give an unfair advantage to the network operator’s own or partners video content.
We cannot predict with any certainty the impact to our business that may result from changes in how network operators handle and charge for access to data that travels across their networks.
Economic weakness and uncertainty may adversely affect our ability to grow or maintain our business.
Our ability to grow or maintain our business may be adversely affected by economic weakness and uncertainty, which could result in the following:
● Fewer subscriber activations and increased subscriber churn rate. We could face fewer subscriber activations and increased subscriber churn rate due to, among other things: (i) certain economic factors that impact consumers, including, among others, inflation, rising interest rates, a potential downturn in the housing market in the United States (including a decline in housing starts) and higher unemployment, which could lead to a lack of consumer confidence and lower discretionary spending; (ii) increased price competition for our products and services; and (iii) the potential loss of independent third-party retailers, who generate a meaningful percentage of our gross new DISH TV subscriber activations, because many of them are small businesses that are more susceptible to the negative effects of economic weakness. In particular, our DISH TV churn rate may increase with respect to subscribers who purchase our lower tier programming packages and who may be more sensitive to economic weakness.
● Higher subscriber acquisition and retention costs. Our profits may be adversely affected by increased subscriber acquisition and retention costs necessary to attract and retain high-quality subscribers during a period of economic weakness.
We are also subject to inflationary cost pressures, and if inflation continues or worsens, it could negatively impact us by increasing, among other things, our operating expenses. Inflation may lead to cost increases in multiple areas across our business, for example, rises in the prices of raw materials and manufactured goods, increased energy rates, as well as increased wage pressures and other expenses related to our labor, programming and other costs. While we attempt to increase our revenue to offset increases in costs, there is no assurance that we will be able to do so on an acceptable timeline or at all. Therefore, costs could rise faster than associated revenue, thereby resulting in a negative impact on our operating results, cash flows and liquidity.
If we are unable to take advantage of technological developments on a timely basis, or at all, we may experience a decline in demand for our services or face challenges in implementing or evolving our business strategy.
In order to grow and remain competitive, we will need to adapt to changes in available technology, including, but not limited to, artificial intelligence and machine learning, enhance our existing service offerings and introduce new offerings to meet our current and potential subscribers’ changing service demands. Adopting new and sophisticated technologies may result in implementation issues, such as scheduling and supplier delays, unexpected or increased costs, technological constraints, regulatory permitting issues, actual or perceived subscriber dissatisfaction and other issues that could cause delays in launching new technological capabilities, which in turn could result in significant costs or reduce the anticipated benefits of the upgrades. If our new services fail to retain or gain acceptance in the marketplace or if costs associated with these services are higher than anticipated, this could have a material adverse effect on our operating results.
Operational and Service Delivery Risks
Any deterioration in our operational performance and subscriber satisfaction could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
If our operational performance and subscriber satisfaction with respect to our Pay-TV business were to deteriorate, we may experience a decrease in subscriber activations and an increase in our subscriber churn rate, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. To improve our operational performance, we continue to make investments in staffing, training, information systems and other initiatives, primarily in our call center and in-home service operations. These investments are intended to, among other things, help combat inefficiencies introduced by the increasing complexity of our business, improve subscriber satisfaction, reduce subscriber churn, increase productivity and allow us to scale better over the long run. We cannot, however, be certain that our spending will ultimately be successful in improving our operational performance, and if unsuccessful, we may have to incur higher costs to improve our operational performance. While we believe that such costs will be outweighed by longer-term benefits, there can be no assurance when or if we will realize these benefits at all.
If our subscriber activations decrease, or if our subscriber churn rate, subscriber acquisition costs or retention costs increase, our financial performance will be adversely affected.
We may incur increased costs to acquire new subscribers and retain existing subscribers to some or all of our Pay-TV business. For example, with respect to our Pay-TV business, our gross new DISH TV subscriber activations, net DISH TV subscriber additions, and DISH TV churn rate continue to be negatively impacted by stricter subscriber acquisition and retention policies for our DISH TV subscribers including, but not limited to, higher quality subscribers. Retention costs with respect to our DISH TV services may be driven higher by, among other things, increased upgrades of existing subscribers’ equipment.
Although we expect to continue to incur expenses, such as providing retention credits and other subscriber acquisition and retention expenses to attract and retain subscribers, there can be no assurance that our efforts will generate new subscribers or result in a lower churn rate. Our subscriber acquisition costs and our subscriber retention costs can vary significantly from period to period and can cause material variability to our net income (loss). Any material increase in subscriber acquisition or retention costs from current levels could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our programming expenses are increasing, which may adversely affect our future financial condition and results of operations.
Our programming costs represent a significant component of our total expense and we expect these costs to continue to increase on a per subscriber basis. The pay-TV industry has continued to experience an increase in the cost of programming, especially local broadcast channels and sports programming. In addition, certain programming costs are rising at a much faster rate than wages or inflation. These factors may be exacerbated by, among other factors, the increasing trend of consolidation in the media industry, partnerships between companies that offer pay-TV services and programmers and increased direct-to-consumer offerings of both exclusive and non-exclusive content, which may further increase our programming expenses. Our ability to compete successfully will depend, among other things, on our ability to continue to obtain desirable programming and deliver it to our subscribers at competitive prices.
In addition, increases in programming costs cause us to increase the rates that we charge our Pay-TV subscribers, which could in turn cause our existing Pay-TV subscribers to disconnect service. Therefore, we may be unable to pass increased programming costs on to our subscribers, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We depend on others to provide the programming that we offer to our Pay-TV subscribers and, if we fail to obtain or lose access to certain programming, our Pay-TV subscriber activations and our subscriber churn rate may be negatively impacted.
We depend on certain third parties to provide us with programming services. Our programming agreements have remaining terms ranging from less than one to up to several years and contain various renewal, expiration and/or termination provisions. We may not be able to renew these agreements on acceptable terms or at all, and these agreements may be terminated prior to expiration of their original terms. In addition, our ability to provide services under these agreements and negotiate acceptable terms depends on, among other things, the number of Pay-TV subscribers we have, our actual, perceived or anticipated financial condition and our negotiating power against each programmer, which can vary depending on the size and scale of such programmer.
Negotiations over programming carriage contracts are generally contentious, and certain programmers have, in the past, limited our access to their programming in connection with those negotiations and the scheduled expiration of their programming carriage contracts with us. In recent years, our net Pay-TV subscriber additions have been negatively impacted as a result of programming interruptions and threatened programming interruptions in connection with the scheduled expiration of programming carriage contracts with content providers. In addition, certain content providers have begun making a greater percentage of their content available as a stand-alone product available direct-to-consumer and acceleration of this trend may result in lower net Pay-TV subscriber additions, higher net Pay-TV subscriber losses and increased DISH TV churn rate.
We cannot predict with any certainty the impact to our net Pay-TV subscriber additions, gross new DISH TV subscriber activations and DISH TV churn rate resulting from programming interruptions or threatened programming interruptions that may occur in the future. As a result, we may at times suffer from periods of lower net Pay-TV subscriber additions or higher net Pay-TV subscriber losses.
We typically have a few programming contracts with major content providers up for renewal each year and if we are unable to renew any of these agreements on acceptable terms or at all, or the other parties terminate the agreements, there can be no assurance that we would be able to obtain substitute programming, or that such substitute programming would be comparable in quality or cost to our existing programming. In addition, failure to obtain access to certain programming or loss of access to programming, particularly programming provided by major content providers and/or programming popular with our subscribers, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations, including, among other things, our net Pay-TV subscriber additions.
Our programming signals in our Pay-TV business are subject to theft, and we are vulnerable to other forms of fraud that could require significant expenditures to remedy. Increases in theft of our signal or our competitors’ signals could, in addition to reducing gross new DISH TV subscriber activations, also cause our DISH TV churn rate to increase.
We may not be able to obtain necessary retransmission consent agreements at acceptable rates, or at all, from local network stations.
The Copyright Act generally gives satellite companies a statutory copyright license to retransmit local broadcast channels by satellite back into the market from which they originated, subject to obtaining the retransmission consent of local broadcast television stations that do not elect “must carry” status, as required by the Communications Act. If we fail to reach retransmission consent agreements with such broadcasters, we cannot carry their signals. This could have an adverse effect on our strategy to compete with cable and other satellite companies that provide local signals. While we have generally been able to reach retransmission consent agreements with most of these local network stations, from time to time there are stations with which we have not been able to reach an agreement, resulting in the removal of their channels primarily from our DISH TV lineup. There can be no assurance that we will secure these agreements or that we will secure new agreements on acceptable terms, or at all, upon the expiration of our current retransmission consent agreements, some of which are short-term.
In recent years, national broadcasters have used their ownership of certain local broadcast stations to require us to carry additional cable programming in exchange for retransmission consent of their local broadcast stations. These requirements may place constraints on available capacity on our satellites for other programming. Furthermore, the rates we are charged for retransmitting local channels have been increasing substantially and may exceed our ability to increase our prices to our subscribers, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We have limited satellite capacity and failures or reduced capacity could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Operation of our Pay-TV business requires that we have adequate satellite transmission capacity for the programming we offer. While we generally have had in-orbit satellite capacity sufficient to transmit our existing channels and some backup capacity to recover the transmission of certain critical programming, our backup capacity is limited.
Our ability to earn revenue from our Pay-TV business depends on, among other things, the usefulness of our owned and leased satellites, each of which has a limited useful life. A number of factors affect the useful lives of the satellites, including, among other things, the quality of their construction, the durability of their component parts, the ability to continue to maintain proper orbits and control over the satellites’ functions, the efficiency of the launch vehicles used, and the remaining on-board fuel following in-orbit insertion. Generally, the minimum design life of each of our owned and leased satellites ranges from 12 to 15 years. We can provide no assurance, however, as to the actual useful lives of any of these satellites. Our operating results could be adversely affected if the useful life of any of our owned or leased satellites was significantly shorter than the minimum design life.
See “Item 1A. Risk Factors - Risks Related to our Satellites” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further information.
Extreme weather may result in risk of damage to our infrastructure and therefore our ability to provide services, and may lead to changes in federal, state and foreign government regulation, all of which could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Extreme weather has the potential to directly damage our facilities and other infrastructure and/or disrupt our ability to operate our business, and could potentially disrupt suppliers’ ability to, among other things, provide the products and services we require to support our operations. Any such disruption could interrupt service for our customers, increase our costs and have a negative effect on our operating results and financial condition. The potential physical effects of extreme weather, such as storms, floods, fires, freezing conditions, sea-level rise and other adverse weather events could negatively affect our operations and infrastructure and, as a result, our financial results. Operational impacts resulting from extreme weather, such as, among other things, damage to our infrastructure, could result in increased costs and loss of revenue. We could be required to incur significant costs to improve the resiliency of our infrastructure and otherwise prepare for, respond to and mitigate such weather events. It is impossible to accurately predict the materiality of any potential losses or costs associated with extreme weather.
We currently depend on DISH Network to provide the vast majority of our satellite transponder capacity and other related services to us. Our business would be adversely affected if DISH Network ceases to provide these services to us and we are unable to obtain suitable replacement services from third parties.
We lease the vast majority of our satellite transponder capacity from DISH Network and DISH Network is a key supplier of other related services to us. Satellite transponder leasing costs may increase beyond our current expectations. Our inability to obtain satellite transponder capacity on acceptable terms or at all and other related services from DISH Network or third parties could adversely affect our subscriber activations and subscriber churn rate and cause related revenue to decline. See Note 15 in the Notes to our Consolidated Financial Statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further information on our Related Party Transactions with DISH Network.
Our failure to effectively invest in, introduce, and implement new competitive products and services could cause our products and services to become obsolete and could negatively impact our business.
Technology in the pay-TV industry changes rapidly as new technologies are developed, which could cause our products and services to become obsolete. We and our suppliers may not be able to keep pace with technological developments. Our operating results are dependent to a significant extent upon our ability to continue to introduce new products and services, to upgrade existing products and services on a timely basis, and to reduce costs of our existing products and services. We may not be able to successfully identify new product or service opportunities or develop and market these opportunities in a timely or cost-effective manner. The research and development of new, technologically advanced products is a complex and uncertain process requiring high levels of innovation and investment. The success of new product and service development depends on many factors, including among others, the following:
● the difficulties and delays in the development, production, timely completion, testing and marketing of products and services;
● the cost of the products and services;
● the proper identification of subscriber needs and subscriber acceptance of products and services;
● the development of, approval of and compliance with industry standards;
● the amount of resources we must devote to the development of new technologies; and
● the ability to differentiate our products and services and compete with other companies in the same markets.
If the new technologies on which we focus our research and development investments fail to achieve acceptance in the marketplace, our competitive position could be negatively impacted, causing a reduction in our revenues and earnings. For example, our competitors could use proprietary technologies that are perceived by the market as being superior. In addition, delays in the delivery of components or other unforeseen problems associated with our technology may occur that could materially and adversely affect our ability to generate revenue, offer new products and services and remain competitive. Furthermore, after we have incurred substantial costs, one or more of the products or services under our development, or under development by one or more of our strategic partners, could become obsolete prior to it being widely adopted.
If our products and services are not competitive or perceived as not competitive, our business could suffer and our financial performance could be negatively impacted. Our products and services may also experience quality problems, including, but not limited to, outages and service slowdowns, from time to time. If the quality of our products and services does not meet our subscribers’ expectations, then our business, and ultimately our reputation, could be negatively impacted.
We rely on a single vendor or a limited number of vendors to provide certain key products or services to us, and the inability of these key vendors to meet our needs could have a material adverse effect on our business.
Historically, we have contracted with and rely on a single vendor or a limited number of vendors to provide certain key products or services to us such as information technology support, billing systems, security access devices, and many components that we provide to subscribers in order to deliver services from our Pay-TV business. If these vendors are unable to meet our needs because, among other things, they fail to perform adequately, are no longer in business, are experiencing shortages or supply chain issues or discontinue a certain product or service we need, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected. We have experienced in the past and may continue to experience shortages driven by raw material availability (which may be negatively impacted by, among other things, trade protection policies such as tariffs and or/escalating trade tensions, particularly with countries in Asia), manufacturing capacity, labor shortages, industry allocations, natural disasters, logistical delays and significant changes in the financial or business conditions of its suppliers that negatively impact our operations.
While alternative sources for these products and services exist, we may not be able to develop these alternative sources quickly and cost-effectively or at all, which could materially impair our ability to timely deliver our products to our subscribers or operate our business. Furthermore, our vendors may request changes in pricing, payment terms or other contractual obligations between the parties, which could require us to make substantial additional investments or find alternative arrangements.
We depend on independent third parties to solicit orders for our services that represent a meaningful percentage of our total gross new subscriber activations.
While we offer products and services through direct sales channels, a meaningful percentage of our total gross new subscriber activations are generated through independent third parties such as small retailers, direct marketing groups, local and regional consumer electronics stores, nationwide retailers, and telecommunications companies. Most of our independent third-party retailers are not exclusive to us and some of our independent third-party retailers may favor our competitors’ products and services over ours based on the relative financial arrangements associated with marketing our products and services and those of our competitors. Furthermore, most of these independent third-party retailers are significantly smaller than we are and may be more susceptible to economic weaknesses that make it more difficult for them to operate profitably. From time to time, we may adjust the economic terms of agreements with our independent third-party retailers to, among other things, further align our interests with theirs. It may be difficult to better align our interests with our independent third-party retailers because of their capital and liquidity constraints. In addition, any changes we may make may not result in the intended benefits on an acceptable timeline or at all and, as a result, negatively affect our operating results. Loss of these relationships could have an adverse effect on our subscriber base and certain of our other key operating metrics because we may not be able to develop comparable alternative distribution channels.
Risks Related to our Human Capital
We rely on highly skilled personnel for our business, and any inability to hire and retain key personnel or to hire qualified personnel may negatively affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We believe that our future success depends to a significant extent upon the performance of Mr. Charles W. Ergen, our Chairman, and certain other key executives. The loss of Mr. Ergen or certain other key executives, the ability to effectively provide for the succession of our senior management or the ability of Mr. Ergen or such other key executives to devote sufficient time and effort to our business could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Although some of our key executives may have agreements relating to their equity compensation that limit their ability to work for or consult with competitors, we generally do not have employment agreements with them.
Our business growth and customer retention strategies rely in part on the work of technically skilled employees.
Our response to technological developments depends, to a significant degree, on the work of technically skilled employees. In addition, we have made and will continue to make significant investments in, among other things, research, development and marketing for new products, services, satellites and related technologies, as well as entry into new business areas. Investments in new technologies, satellites and business areas are inherently dependent on these technically skilled employees as well. Competition for the services of such employees has become more intense as demand for these types of employees grows. We compete with other companies for these employees and although we strive to attract, retain, motivate and manage these employees, we may not succeed in these respects. Additionally, if we were to lose certain key technically skilled employees, the loss of knowledge and intellectual capital might have an adverse impact on our business.
The success of our business is also dependent on our ability to recruit engineers and other professionals, including those who are citizens of other countries. Immigration laws in the U.S. and other countries in which we operate are subject to legislative and regulatory changes, as well as variations in the standards of application and enforcement due to, among other things, political forces and economic conditions. It is difficult to predict the political and economic events that could affect immigration laws, or the restrictive impact they could have on obtaining or renewing work visas for our professionals. If immigration laws are changed or if new and more restrictive government regulations are enacted or increased, our access to qualified and skilled professionals may be limited.
Risks Related to our Satellites
Our owned and leased satellites in orbit are subject to significant operational and environmental risks that could limit our ability to utilize these satellites.
Satellites are subject to significant operational risks while in orbit. These risks include, but are not limited to, malfunctions, commonly referred to as anomalies, which have occurred and may occur in the future in our satellites and the satellites of other operators. Any single anomaly could materially and adversely affect our ability to utilize the satellite. Anomalies may also reduce, among other things, the expected capacity, commercial operation and/or useful life of a satellite, thereby reducing the revenue that could be generated by that satellite, or create additional expenses due to the need to provide replacement or back-up satellites or satellite capacity earlier than planned and could have a material adverse effect on our business. We may not be able to prevent or mitigate the impacts of anomalies in the future.
Meteoroid events, decommissioned satellites, increased solar activity and other adverse events also pose a potential threat to all in-orbit satellites. We may be required to perform maneuvers to avoid collisions and these maneuvers may prove unsuccessful or could reduce the useful life of the satellite through the expenditure of fuel to perform these maneuvers.
Generally, the minimum design life of each of our satellites is 15 years. We can provide no assurance, however, as to the actual operational lives of our satellites, which may be shorter or longer than their design lives. Our ability to earn revenue depends on the continued operation of our satellites, each of which has a limited useful life.
We generally do not carry in-orbit insurance on our satellites or payloads because we have assessed that the cost of insurance is not economical relative to the risk of failures. If one or more of our in-orbit uninsured satellites or payloads fail, we could be required to record significant impairment charges for the satellite or payload.
Our satellites under construction are subject to risks related to, among other things, construction, technology, regulations and launch that could limit our ability to utilize these satellites, increase costs and adversely affect our business.
Satellite construction and launch are subject to significant risks, including, but not limited to, manufacturing and delivery delays, anomalies, launch failure and incorrect orbital placement. The technologies in our satellite designs are very complex and difficulties in constructing our designs could result in delays in the deployment of our satellites or increased or unanticipated costs. There can be no assurance that the technologies in our existing satellites or in new satellites that we design, acquire and build will work as we expect, will not become obsolete, that we will realize any or all of the anticipated benefits of our satellite designs or our new satellites, and/or that we will obtain all regulatory approvals required to operate our new or acquired satellites on an acceptable timeline or at all. Launch anomalies and failures can result in significant delays in the deployment of satellites because of the need both to construct replacement satellites, which can take significant amounts of time, and to obtain other launch opportunities. Such significant delays have and could in the future materially affect, among other things, our business, our ability to meet regulatory or contractual required milestones, the availability and our use of other or replacement satellite resources and our ability to provide services to customers. In addition, significant delays in a satellite program could give customers who have purchased or reserved capacity on that satellite a right to terminate their service contracts relating to the satellite. We may not be able to accommodate affected customers on other satellites until a replacement satellite is available. In addition, we generally do not carry in-orbit insurance on our satellites or payloads because we have assessed that the cost of insurance is not economical relative to the risk of failures. If we do obtain launch or in-orbit insurance, it may not cover the full cost of constructing and launching or replacing a satellite nor fully cover our losses in the event of a launch failure or significant degradation.
Our use of certain satellites is often dependent on satellite coordination agreements, which may be difficult to obtain.
Satellite operators are required to enter into international spectrum coordination agreements with other affected satellite operators and must be approved by the relevant governments. If a required agreement cannot be negotiated, we may have to operate the applicable satellite(s) in a manner that does not cause harmful radio frequency interference with the affected satellite. If we cannot do so, we may have to cease operating such satellite(s) at the affected orbital locations.
We may face interference from other services sharing satellite spectrum.
The FCC and other national, state, local and international regulators have adopted rules or may adopt rules in the future that require us to share spectrum on a basis with other radio services. There can be no assurance that these operations would not interfere with our operations and adversely affect our business. In the event that the FCC and/or another regulator determines that our spectrum interferes with another service, we may be required to, among other things, find or develop a solution. We cannot make any assurance that we will be able to do so on an acceptable timeline or at all, or that such solution will not adversely affect our business.
Risks Related to our Products and Technology
Our business depends on certain intellectual property rights and on not infringing the intellectual property rights of others.
We rely on our patents, copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets, as well as licenses and other agreements with our vendors and other parties, to use our technologies, conduct our operations and sell our products and services. Legal challenges to our intellectual property rights and claims of intellectual property infringement by third parties could require that we enter into royalty or licensing agreements on unfavorable terms, incur substantial monetary liability or be enjoined preliminarily or permanently from further use of the intellectual property in question or from the continuation of our business as currently conducted, which could require us to change our business practices or limit our ability to compete effectively or could have an adverse effect on our results of operations. Even if we believe any such challenges or claims are without merit, they can be time consuming and costly to defend and divert management’s attention and resources away from our business. Moreover, because of the rapid pace of technological change, we rely on technologies developed by or licensed from third parties, and if we are unable to obtain or continue to obtain licenses from these third parties on reasonable terms or at all, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.
In addition, we work with certain third parties such as vendors, contractors and suppliers for the development and manufacture of components that are integrated into our products and services, and our products and services may contain technologies provided to us by these third parties or other third parties. We may have little or no ability to determine in advance whether any such technology infringes the intellectual property rights of others. Our vendors, contractors and suppliers may not be required to indemnify us if a claim of infringement is asserted against us, license the potential infringing technology from other third parties or they may be required to indemnify us only up to a maximum amount, above which we would be responsible for any further costs or damages. Legal challenges to these intellectual property rights may impair our ability to use the products, services and technologies that we need in order to operate our business and may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Furthermore, our digital content offerings depend in part on effective digital rights management technology to control access to digital content. If the digital rights management technology that we use is compromised or otherwise malfunctions, content providers may be unwilling to provide access to their content. Changes in the copyright laws or how such laws may be interpreted could impact our ability to deliver content and provide certain features and functionality, particularly over the Internet.
We are, and may become, party to various lawsuits which, if adversely decided, could have a significant adverse impact on our business, particularly lawsuits regarding intellectual property.
We are, and may become, subject to various legal proceedings and claims which arise in the ordinary course of business, including among other things, intellectual property disputes. Many entities, including some of our competitors, have or may in the future obtain patents and other intellectual property rights that may cover or affect products or services related to those that we offer. In general, if a court determines that one or more of our products or services infringes on intellectual property held by others, we may be required to cease developing or marketing those products or services, to obtain licenses from the holders of the intellectual property at a material cost, or to redesign those products or services in such a way as to avoid infringing the intellectual property. If those intellectual property rights are held by a competitor, we may be unable to obtain the intellectual property at any price, which could adversely affect our competitive position. See “Item 1. Business - Patents and Other Intellectual Property” in EchoStar’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024 for further information. We may not be aware of all intellectual property rights that our services or the products used in connection with our services may potentially infringe. In addition, patent applications in the United States are confidential until the Patent and Trademark Office either publishes the application or issues a patent (whichever arises first). Therefore, it is difficult to evaluate the extent to which our services or the products used in connection with our services may infringe claims contained in pending patent applications. Furthermore, it is sometimes not possible to determine definitively whether a claim of infringement is valid.
If our products contain defects, we could be subject to significant costs to correct such defects and our product and network service contracts could be delayed or cancelled, which could adversely affect our revenue.
Our products and networks we deploy are highly complex, and some may contain defects when first introduced or when new versions or enhancements are released, despite testing and our quality control procedures. Defects may also occur in components and products that we purchase from third parties. In addition, many of our products and network services are designed to interface with our customers’ existing networks, each of which has different specifications and utilizes multiple protocol standards. Our products and services must interoperate with the other products and services within our customers’ networks, as well as with future products and services that might be added to these networks, to meet our customers’ requirements. There can be no assurance that we will be able to detect and fix all defects in the products and networks we sell, in a timely manner or at all. The occurrence of, and failure to remedy, any defects, errors or failures in our products or network services could materially affect our business.
Risks Related to Cybersecurity
Any failure or inadequacy of our information technology infrastructure and communications systems or those of third parties that we use in our operations, including, without limitation, those caused by cyber-attacks or other malicious activities, could disrupt or harm our business.
The capacity, reliability and security of our information technology hardware and software infrastructure (including, but not limited to, our billing systems) and communications systems, or those of third parties that we use in our operations, are important to the operation of our business, which has in the past and would in the future suffer in the event of system failures or cyber-attacks. Likewise, our ability to expand and update our information technology infrastructure in response to, among other things, our growth and changing needs is important to the continued implementation of our new service offering initiatives. Our inability to expand or upgrade our technology infrastructure could have adverse consequences, which could include, among other things, the delayed implementation of new service offerings, service or billing interruptions, and the diversion of management and developmental resources.
We rely on certain third parties for developing key components of our information technology and communications systems and ongoing service, all of which affect our Pay-TV business. Some of our key systems and operations, including, but not limited to, those supplied by certain third-party providers, are not fully redundant, and our disaster recovery planning cannot account for all eventualities. Interruption and/or failure of any of these systems could, among other things, disrupt our operations, interrupt our services, result in significant financial expenditures and damage our reputation, thus adversely impacting our ability to provide our services, retain our current subscribers and attract new Pay-TV subscribers.
In addition, although we take protective measures designed to secure our information technology systems and endeavor to modify such protective measures as circumstances warrant, our information technology hardware and software infrastructure and communications systems, or those of third parties that we use in our operations, may be vulnerable to a variety of interruptions, including, without limitation, natural disasters, terrorist attacks, telecommunications failures, cyber-attacks and other malicious activities such as unauthorized access, physical or electronic break-ins, misuse, computer viruses or other malicious code, computer denial of service attacks and other events that could disrupt or harm our business. These protective measures may not be sufficient for all eventualities and may themselves be vulnerable to hacking, malfeasance, system error or other irregularities.
For example, certain parties may attempt to fraudulently induce employees or subscribers into disclosing usernames, passwords or other sensitive information, which may in turn be used to access our information technology systems. In addition, third-party providers of some of our key systems may also experience interruptions to their information technology hardware and software infrastructure and communications systems that could adversely impact us and over which we may have limited or no control. We may obtain certain confidential, proprietary and personal information about our subscribers, personnel and vendors, and may provide this information to third parties in connection with our business. If one or more of such interruptions or failures occur to us or our third-party providers, it potentially could jeopardize such information and other information processed and stored in, and transmitted through, our or our third-party providers’ information technology hardware and software infrastructure and communications systems, or otherwise cause interruptions or malfunctions in our operations, which could result in, among other things, lawsuits, government claims, investigations or proceedings, significant losses or reputational damage. Due to the fast-moving pace of technology, it may be difficult to detect, contain and remediate every such event on an acceptable timeline or at all.
As a result of the increasing awareness concerning the importance of safeguarding personal information, the potential misuse of such information and legislation that has been adopted or is being considered regarding the protection, privacy and security of personal information, the potential liability associated with information-related risks is increasing, particularly for businesses like ours that handle personal subscriber data. The occurrence of any network or information system related events or security breaches could have a material adverse effect on, among other things, our reputation, business, financial condition and results of operations. Significant incidents could result in a disruption of our operations, subscriber dissatisfaction, damage to our reputation or a loss of subscribers and revenues.
We have experienced and may experience in the future cyber-attacks and other attempts to gain unauthorized access to our systems on a consistent basis.
We have experienced and may experience in the future security issues, whether due to, among other things, insider error or malfeasance or system errors or vulnerabilities in our or our third parties’ systems, which could result in, among other things, substantial legal and financial exposure, government inquiries and enforcement actions, litigation, diversion of management time and attention from our existing businesses and unfavorable media coverage. We may be unable to anticipate or detect attacks or vulnerabilities or implement adequate preventative measures on an acceptable timeframe or at all. Attacks and security issues could also compromise trade secrets and other sensitive information.
We are subject to persistent cybersecurity threats to our networks and systems. Although we take protective measures designed to secure our information technology systems and endeavor to modify such protective measures as circumstances warrant, our information technology hardware and software infrastructure and communications systems, or those of third parties that we use in our operations, may be vulnerable to a variety of interruptions, including, without limitation, natural disasters, terrorist attacks, telecommunications failures, cyber-attacks and other malicious activities such as unauthorized access, physical or electronic break-ins, misuse, computer viruses or other malicious code, computer denial of service attacks and other events that could disrupt or harm our business. The protective measures we take may not be sufficient for all eventualities and may themselves be vulnerable to hacking, malfeasance, system error, or other irregularities. For example, certain parties may attempt to fraudulently induce employees or subscribers into disclosing usernames, passwords or other sensitive information, which may in turn be used to access our information technology systems.
In addition, cybersecurity threat actors are increasingly sophisticated through various techniques that involve social engineering and/or misrepresentation. Techniques used in cyberattacks to obtain unauthorized access to, disable or sabotage information technology systems are increasingly diverse and sophisticated, including as a result of emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence and machine learning. Data breaches and other cybersecurity events have become increasingly commonplace, including as a result of the intensification of state-sponsored cyberattacks during periods of geopolitical conflict. Various events described above have occurred in the past and may occur in the future. Although impacts of past events have been immaterial, the impacts of such events in the future may be material, including, but not limited to, increase in our DISH TV churn rate, reduce new subscriber activations and reputational harm which could increase or accelerate any of the above risks.
The confidentiality, integrity, and availability of our services and products depends on the continuing operation of our information technology and other enabling systems.
Our systems are vulnerable to damage, intrusion, or disruption from, among other things, criminal and/or terrorist attacks, telecommunications failures, computer viruses, ransomware attacks, digital denial of service attacks, phishing, and/or other attempts to injure or maliciously access our systems. Some of our systems are not fully redundant, and disaster recovery planning cannot account for all possibilities. In addition, our products and services are highly technical and complex and may contain errors or vulnerabilities, which could result in interruptions in or failure of our services or systems. Failure to respond, mitigate and/or remedy any cyber-attack or other information technology failure on a timely basis or at all, could materially affect our business.
Our ongoing investments in security will likely continue to identify new vulnerabilities within our services and products.
In addition to our efforts to, among other things, mitigate the risk of cyber-attacks and improve our products and services, we are making significant investments to assure that our products are resistant to compromise. As a result of these efforts, we could discover new vulnerabilities within our products and systems that would be undesirable for our users and customers. We have discovered and remediated, and may discover new vulnerabilities due to the scale of activities on our platforms, and may not be able to mitigate or fix such vulnerabilities on acceptable timeframes or at all, due to other factors, including, but not limited to, issues outside of our control such as natural disasters/climate change such as sea level rise, drought, flooding, wildfires, increased storm severity, power loss, and we may be notified of such vulnerabilities via third parties. Any of the foregoing developments may, among other things, negatively affect user and customer trust, harm our reputation and brands and adversely affect our business and financial results.
Any such developments may also subject us to litigation and regulatory inquiries, which could result in monetary penalties and damages, distract management’s time and attention and lead to enhanced regulatory oversight.
Acquisition and Capital Structure Risks
We have substantial debt outstanding and may incur additional debt.
As of December 31, 2024, our total debt, finance lease and other obligations (including current portion) outstanding, including the debt of our subsidiaries, was $12.147 billion. Our debt levels could have significant consequences, including, but not limited to;
● making it more difficult to satisfy our obligations;
● a dilutive effect on our future earnings;
● increasing our vulnerability to general adverse economic conditions, including, but not limited to, changes in interest rates;
● requiring us to devote a substantial portion of our cash to make interest and principal payments on our debt, thereby reducing the amount of cash available for other purposes. As a result, we would have limited financial and operating flexibility to changing economic and competitive conditions;
● limiting our ability to raise additional debt because it may be more difficult for us to obtain debt financing on attractive terms or at all; and
● placing us at a disadvantage compared to our competitors that are less leveraged or can borrow funds at a lower interest rate.
In addition, we may incur additional debt in the future. The terms of the indentures relating to our senior notes and senior secured notes permit us to incur additional debt. If new debt is added to our current debt levels, the risks we now face could intensify.
Our parent, DISH Network, has made substantial investments to acquire certain wireless spectrum licenses and other related assets, and we have made and may continue to make funds available to DISH Network in the form of cash distributions or loans in connection with the development of DISH Network’s wireless business.
Our parent, DISH Network, initially invested a total of over $30 billion to acquire certain wireless spectrum licenses. See Note 13 in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements in DISH Network’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024 for detailed information regarding these licenses, including certain interim and final build-out requirements, as well as certain renewal requirements.
DISH Network may need to make significant additional investments or partner with others to, among other things, continue the nation’s first cloud-native, Open Radio Access Network (“O-RAN”) based 5G network (“5G Network Deployment”) and further commercialize, build-out and integrate these licenses and related assets and any additional acquired licenses and related assets, as well as to comply with regulations applicable to such licenses. Depending on the nature and scope of such activities, any such investments or partnerships could vary significantly. In addition, as DISH Network continues its 5G Network Deployment, DISH Network has and may continue to incur significant additional expenses related to, among other things, research and development, wireless testing and ongoing upgrades to the wireless network infrastructure, software and third-party integration. DISH Network may also determine that additional wireless spectrum licenses may be required for its 5G Network Deployment, which will enhance its ability to compete effectively with other wireless service providers.
In connection with the development of DISH Network’s wireless business, including, without limitation, the efforts described above, we have historically made funds available to DISH Network in the form of cash distributions and the Intercompany Loan (defined herein) to partially finance these efforts to date. Subject to, among other things, compliance with applicable legal requirements, including the covenants applicable to our outstanding debt securities, we may make additional funds available, including through cash distributions or loans to finance, in whole or in part, DISH Network’s future efforts. There can be no assurance that DISH Network will be able to profitably deploy these wireless spectrum licenses.
We may pursue acquisitions, dispositions, capital expenditures, the development, acquisition and launch of new satellites and other strategic initiatives to complement or expand our business, which may not be successful and we may lose a portion or all of our investment in these acquisitions and transactions.
Our future success may depend on opportunities to buy or otherwise invest in other businesses or technologies that could complement, enhance or expand our current business or products or that might otherwise offer us growth opportunities. To pursue this strategy successfully, we must identify attractive acquisition or investment opportunities and successfully complete transactions, some of which may be large and complex. We may not be able to identify or complete attractive acquisition or investment opportunities due to, among other things, the intense competition for these transactions. If we are not able to identify and complete such acquisition or investment opportunities, our future results of operations and financial condition may be adversely affected.
We may be unable to obtain in the anticipated time frame, or at all, any regulatory approvals required to complete proposed acquisitions and other strategic transactions. Furthermore, the conditions imposed for obtaining any necessary approvals could delay the completion of such transactions for a significant period of time or prevent them from occurring at all. We may not be able to complete such transactions, and such transactions, if executed, pose significant risks and could have a negative effect on our operations. Any transactions that we are able to identify and complete may involve a number of risks, including, but not limited to:
● the risks associated with developing and constructing new satellites;
● the diversion of management’s attention from our existing business onto a strategic initiative;
● the possible adverse effects on our and our targets’ and partners’ business, financial condition or operating results during the integration process;
● the high degree of risk inherent in these transactions, which could become substantial over time, and higher exposure to significant financial losses if the underlying ventures are not successful on an acceptable timeline or at all;
● the possible inability to achieve the intended objectives of the transaction;
● the risks associated with complying with contractual provisions and regulations applicable to the acquired business, which may cause us to incur substantial expenses; and
● the disruption of relationships with employees, vendors or customers.
In addition, we may not be able to successfully or profitably integrate, operate, maintain and manage our newly acquired operations or employees on an acceptable timeline or at all. We may not be able to maintain uniform standards, controls, procedures and policies, and this may lead to, among other things, operational inefficiencies. In addition, the integration process may strain our financial and managerial controls and reporting systems and procedures.
New acquisitions, joint ventures and other transactions may require the commitment of significant capital that would otherwise be directed to investments in our existing business. To pursue acquisitions and other strategic transactions, we may need to raise additional capital in the future, which may not be available on favorable terms or at all. In addition, we make cash distributions or loans to DISH Network to finance acquisitions or investments that will not be part of our business.
In addition to committing capital to complete the acquisitions, substantial capital may be required to operate the acquired businesses following their acquisition. These acquisitions may result in significant financial losses if the intended objectives of the transactions are not achieved. Some of the businesses acquired by DISH Network have experienced significant operating and financial challenges in their recent history, which in some cases resulted in these businesses commencing bankruptcy proceedings prior to DISH Network’s acquisition. DISH Network may acquire similar businesses in the future.
There is no assurance that DISH Network will be able to successfully address the challenges and risks encountered by these businesses following their acquisition. If DISH Network is unable to successfully address these challenges and risks, our business, financial condition and/or results of operations may suffer.
Our Senior Secured Notes are subordinated to our existing unsecured notes and certain future unsecured notes with respect to certain realizations under the Intercompany Loan (defined herein) and any collateral pledged as security therefor.
Our Senior Secured Notes are subordinated in respect of any realization under an intercompany loan to DISH Network to finance the purchase of wireless spectrum licenses and for general corporate purposes, including the buildout of wireless infrastructure (together with future advances to DISH Network, the “Intercompany Loan”), and any collateral pledged as security therefor behind all of our existing unsecured notes and all future unsecured notes, except any future unsecured notes that expressly provide that such notes rank equal in right of payment with, or junior in right of payment to, the Senior Secured Notes with respect thereto. As a result of this subordination, upon any distribution to our creditors in a bankruptcy, liquidation or reorganization or similar proceeding relating to any amounts realized under the Intercompany Loan, the holders of our existing and certain future unsecured notes will be entitled to be paid in full and in cash from such realized proceeds before any payment in respect of such realized proceeds may be made with respect to the Senior Secured Notes. While the Senior Secured Notes benefit from liens on substantially all existing and future tangible and intangible assets of DISH DBS and the guarantors (the “Collateral”), which does not secure our existing and future unsecured notes, the Collateral does not include the Intercompany Loan and there can be no assurances that the Collateral will be sufficient to satisfy all obligations under the Senior Secured Notes and under any of our other future indebtedness secured by the Collateral. We and the guarantors may not have sufficient funds to pay all of our creditors, and holders of the Senior Secured Notes may receive less, ratably, than the holders of our existing and future unsecured notes as a result of this subordination.
We may need additional capital, which may not be available on favorable terms or at all, to fund current obligations, continue investing in our business and to finance acquisitions and other strategic transactions.
Adverse changes in the credit markets including, but not limited to, rising interest rates and macro-economic conditions, could increase our borrowing costs and/or make it more difficult for us to obtain financing for our operations or for us to refinance existing indebtedness on favorable terms.
Continued or prolonged higher interest rates could increase our cost of capital and require us to devote a higher percentage of our cash flow to interest payments, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial results.
In addition, economic weakness, weak results of operations or other factors may limit our ability to, among other things, generate sufficient internal cash to fund investments, capital expenditures, acquisitions and other strategic transactions, as well as to fund ongoing operations and service our debt. We may be unable to generate cash flows from operating activities sufficient to pay the principal, premium, if any, and interest on our debt and other obligations. If we are unable to service our debt and other obligations from cash flows from operating activities, we may need to refinance or restructure all or a portion of such obligations prior to maturity.
Any refinancing or restructuring could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and/or financial condition. In addition, we cannot guarantee that any refinancing or restructuring would sufficiently meet any debt or other obligations then due. If we do not pay interest or otherwise fulfill our debt obligations when due, our business, cash flows, results of operations and financial condition would be materially adversely impacted.
Furthermore, our borrowing costs can be affected by short and long-term debt ratings assigned by independent rating agencies, which are based, in significant part, on, among other factors, our performance as measured by their credit metrics. A decrease in these ratings would likely increase our cost of borrowing and/or make it more difficult for us to obtain financing.
A severe disruption in the global financial markets could impact some of the financial institutions with which we do business, and such instability could also affect our access to financing. As a result, these conditions could make it difficult for us to accurately forecast and plan future business activities because we may not have access to funding sources necessary for us to pursue organic and strategic business development opportunities.
Covenants in our and our subsidiaries’ Indentures restrict our business in many ways.
There are restrictive covenants in our and our subsidiaries’ Indentures that restrict us and our subsidiaries (as applicable), under certain circumstances, from taking certain actions such as, among other things:
● incur additional debt;
● allow to exist certain restrictions on certain subsidiaries’ ability to pay dividends, make distributions, make other payments or transfer assets;
● restrict our ability to make investments or make other payments in respect of our indebtedness;
● limit our ability to incur indebtedness that is senior to, equal or subordinate to certain Indebtedness, or to engage in certain sale/leaseback transactions;
● enter into certain transactions with affiliates;
● merge or consolidate with another company;
● restrict our ability to repurchase or prepay any other of our securities or other indebtedness; and
● restrict our ability to enter into highly leveraged transactions.
Our ability to, among other things, recapitalize, incur additional debt, secure existing or future debt or take a number of other actions may be limited by the terms of our Indentures, business and tax considerations and legal restrictions, including, but not limited to, repurchasing indebtedness or paying dividends and could have the effect of diminishing our ability to make payments on our outstanding Indebtedness when due.
Risks Related to the Regulation of Our Business
Our services depend on FCC licenses that can expire or be revoked or modified and applications for FCC licenses that may not be granted.
If the FCC were to cancel, revoke, suspend, restrict, significantly condition, or fail to renew any of our licenses or authorizations, or fail to grant our applications for FCC licenses that we may file from time to time, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. As an example, a loss of a frequency authorization would reduce the amount of spectrum available to us, potentially reducing the amount of DISH TV offerings available to our subscribers. The materiality of such a loss of authorizations would vary based upon, among other things, the location of the frequency used or the availability of replacement spectrum. In addition, Congress and other Administrative and Regulatory agencies often consider and enact legislation that affects us and FCC proceedings to implement the Communications Act and enforce its regulations are ongoing. We cannot predict the outcomes of these legislative or regulatory proceedings or their effect on our business.
The risk of non-compliance with laws and regulations, including, but not limited to, the risk of changes to laws and regulations, could adversely affect our business.
Our business is regulated by numerous governmental agencies and other regulatory bodies, both domestically and internationally. Violations of these laws and regulations could result in fines or penalties or other sanctions which could have a material adverse impact on our business. Additionally, our ability to operate and grow our business depends on laws and regulations that govern the frequency bands and/or orbital locations we operate in or may operate in in the future.
These laws and regulations are subject to the administrative and political process and do change from time to time. We may be affected by changes to government leadership and policy changes resulting from new leaders. We have been subject to such changes in the past and may be subject to such changes in the future and those changes may negatively impact us including, but not limited to, the addition of new regulations, the modification or rescission of past regulations which may be favorable and the increase or decrease of government programs which us or our subscribers may be recipients. Our business could suffer a material adverse impact if laws and regulations change and we are not able to adapt to these changes efficiently.
Additionally, we are subject to emerging and evolving regulatory requirements and frameworks regarding environmental, social and governance matters, including, but not limited to, potential new or revised disclosure rules proposed by the SEC and recently enacted or proposed legislation in jurisdictions such as California. The ultimate scope of these regulations may change as they are finalized, and they may not be uniform across jurisdictions. Meeting these obligations may require significant investments of time, capital and personnel.
If our internal controls are not effective, our business, EchoStar’s stock price and investor confidence in our financial results may be adversely affected.
We periodically evaluate and test our internal control over financial reporting to satisfy the requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Our management has concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2024. We depend on our third-party vendors’ internal controls and rely on these controls when evaluating the effectiveness of our internal controls. If in the future we are unable to report that our internal control over financial reporting is effective, investors, subscribers and business partners could lose confidence in the accuracy of our financial reports, which could in turn have a material adverse effect on our business.
Risks Related to Ownership
Our ultimate parent, EchoStar, is controlled by one principal stockholder who is also our Chairman.
Charles W. Ergen, our, DISH Network and EchoStar’s Chairman, beneficially owns approximately 51.7% of EchoStar’s total equity securities (assuming conversion of the Class B common stock beneficially owned by Mr. Ergen into Class A common stock and giving effect to the exercise of options held by Mr. Ergen that are either currently exercisable as of, or may become exercisable within 60 days) and beneficially owns approximately 90.6% of the total voting power of all classes of EchoStar’s shares (assuming no conversion of any Class B common stock and giving effect to the exercise of options held by Mr. Ergen that are either currently exercisable as of, or may become exercisable within 60 days). Through his beneficial ownership of EchoStar’s equity securities, Mr. Ergen has the ability to elect a majority of EchoStar’s directors and to control all other matters requiring the approval of its stockholders. As a result of Mr. Ergen’s voting power, EchoStar is a “controlled company” as defined in the NASDAQ listing rules and, therefore, is not subject to NASDAQ requirements that would otherwise require EchoStar to have (i) a majority of independent directors; (ii) a nominating committee composed solely of independent directors; (iii) compensation of EchoStar’s executive officers determined by a majority of the independent directors or a compensation committee composed solely of independent directors; (iv) a compensation committee charter which provides the compensation committee with the authority and funding to retain compensation consultants and other advisors; and/or (v) director nominees selected, or recommended for EchoStar’s Board of Directors selection, either by a majority of the independent directors or a nominating committee composed solely of independent directors.
General Risks
Sociopolitical volatility and polarization may adversely affect our business operations and reputation.
The current sociopolitical environment is characterized by deep complexity, volatility and polarization on various social and political issues. The increasing intersection of technology and politics has led to rapid and unpredictable shifts in public sentiment. Social media and digital platforms have amplified the voices of various stakeholders, creating the potential for swift change in public opinion and stronger reactions to corporate actions. As a company that sells products and services across the nation to millions of customers, these dynamics increase the risk of negative government and customer reactions, including, but not limited to, potential reputational damage, boycotts and shifts in consumer behavior that could adversely affect our brand, sales and profitability. Our ability to respond effectively, sensitively and authentically to the expectations and concerns of our customers, employees and other stakeholders is key to mitigating these risks. If we are unable to manage these challenges effectively, there may be adverse impacts to our business, reputation, financial condition and operating results.
We may face other risks described from time to time in periodic and current reports we file with the SEC.

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ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
Item 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
None.

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ITEM 2. PROPERTIES
Item 2. PROPERTIES
The following table sets forth certain information concerning our principal properties.
Leased From
Description/Use/Location
Owned
EchoStar
DISH
Other
Third
Party
Corporate headquarters, Englewood, Colorado
X
Customer call center, warehouse, service, and remanufacturing center, El Paso, Texas
X
Data center, Cheyenne, Wyoming
X
Digital broadcast operations center, Cheyenne, Wyoming
X
Digital broadcast operations center, Gilbert, Arizona
X
Engineering offices and service center, Englewood, Colorado
X
Warehouse, Denver, Colorado
X
Warehouse and distribution center, Spartanburg, South Carolina
X
Warehouse and distribution center, Denver, Colorado
X
Warehouse and distribution center, Atlanta, Georgia
X
In addition to the principal properties listed above, we operate numerous facilities for, among other things, our in-home service operations, customer call centers and digital broadcast operations centers strategically located in regions throughout the United States. Furthermore, we own or lease capacity on nine satellites, which are a major component of our DISH TV services. See Note 6 in the Notes to our Consolidated Financial Statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further information.

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ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
Item 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
See Note 12 in the Notes to our Consolidated Financial Statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for information regarding certain legal proceedings in which we are involved.

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ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURE
Item 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES
Not applicable.
PART II

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ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT'S COMMON EQUITY
Item 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES
Market Information. As of March 19, 2025, all 1,015 issued and outstanding shares of our common stock were held by DOC. There is currently no established trading market for our common stock.

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ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA
Item 6. [Reserved]

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ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
Item 7. MANAGEMENT’S NARRATIVE ANALYSIS OF RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
You should read the following management’s narrative analysis of our results of operations together with the audited consolidated financial statements and notes to our financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. This management’s narrative analysis is intended to help provide an understanding of our financial condition, changes in financial condition and results of our operations and contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. The forward-looking statements are not historical facts, but rather are based on current expectations, estimates, assumptions and projections about our industry, business and future financial results. Our actual results could differ materially from the results contemplated by these forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including those discussed under the caption “Item 1A. Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Furthermore, such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and we expressly disclaim any obligation to update any forward-looking statements.
Overview
Recent Developments
DIRECTV Transaction
On September 29, 2024, EchoStar and DTV entered into the Purchase Agreement. Pursuant to the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Purchase Agreement, DTV agreed to acquire from EchoStar all of the issued and outstanding equity interests of DISH DBS, which operates our Pay-TV business.
Following written notice from DTV received on November 20, 2024, DTV terminated the Purchase Agreement effective at 11:59 pm ET on November 22, 2024 pursuant to Section 7.01(a)(iv) of the Purchase Agreement because the DISH DBS Exchange Offers were not consummated by the Exchange Offer Settlement Date (as defined in the Purchase Agreement). No termination fee or other payment was due from either party to the other as a result of the termination of the Purchase Agreement.
Financing Transactions
During the third quarter of 2024, we completed our issuance of $2.5 billion of New DISH DBS Financing (defined in Note 8 in the Notes to our Consolidated Financial Statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K), which included $2.047 billion of funds used for the redemption of our 5 7/8% Senior Notes due November 15, 2024.
Other Developments
Asset Transfer
Concurrently with the issuance of the 5 1/4% Senior Secured Notes due 2026 and the 5 3/4% Senior Secured Notes due 2028 and using the proceeds thereof, we made two advances to DISH Network pursuant to a Loan and Security Agreement dated November 26, 2021 (the “Intercompany Loan”) to be used by DISH Network to finance the purchase of certain wireless spectrum licenses and for general corporate purposes, including the buildout of wireless infrastructure. The aggregate principal amount of the Intercompany Loan was initially $5.250 billion, and on February 11, 2022, we advanced an additional $1.5 billion to DISH Network. As of December 31, 2023, the receivable including capitalized paid in kind interest was $7.496 billion.
On January 10, 2024, we, in our capacity as “Lender” under the terms of the Loan and Security Agreement related to the Intercompany Loan between DISH Network and us, have consummated the assignment pursuant to such terms, without any modification or amendment thereto, of our receivable in respect to the first tranche which matures on December 1, 2026 (“2026 Tranche”) of $4.7 billion (the “Intercompany Loan - 2026 Tranche”) to DBS Intercompany Receivable L.L.C. DBS Intercompany Receivable L.L.C. has subsequently assigned its rights as lender thereunder to EchoStar Intercompany Receivable Company L.L.C., our ultimate parent, EchoStar’s direct wholly-owned subsidiary, such that amounts owed in respect of the 2026 Tranche will now be paid by DISH Network to EchoStar Intercompany Receivable L.L.C. As of December 31, 2024, our remaining intercompany receivable (the “Intercompany Loan - 2028 Tranche”) amount outstanding plus interest paid in kind was $2.844 billion, not including accrued interest receivable of $14 million which must be paid to us in cash.
Segments
We currently operate one business segment, Pay-TV.
Our Pay-TV business strategy is to be the best provider of video services in the United States by providing products with the best technology, outstanding customer service, and great value. We offer Pay-TV services under the DISH® brand and the SLING® brand. We promote our Pay-TV services by providing our subscribers with a better “price-to-value” relationship and experience than those available from other subscription television service providers. We market our SLING TV services to consumers who do not subscribe to traditional satellite and cable pay-TV services, as well as to current and recent traditional pay-TV subscribers who desire a lower cost alternative.
Future Capital Requirements
We expect to fund our future working capital, capital expenditures, other investments and debt service requirements for the next twelve months from cash generated from operations, existing restricted and unrestricted cash, cash equivalents and marketable investment securities balances and cash generated through raising additional capital. We do not currently have cash, marketable investment securities balances and/or projected future cash flows to fully fund our 2026 debt maturities. We will need to refinance or restructure all or a portion of such obligations prior to maturity.
Our capital expenditures vary depending on, among other things, the number of satellites leased or under construction at any point in time and could increase materially as a result of increased competition, significant satellite failures or economic weakness and uncertainty. Our DISH TV subscriber base has been declining and there can be no assurance that our DISH TV subscriber base will not continue to decline and that the pace of such decline will not accelerate. In the event that our DISH TV subscriber base continues to decline, it will have a material adverse long-term effect on our cash flow.
Volatility in the financial markets has made it more difficult at times for issuers of high-yield indebtedness, such as us, to access capital markets at favorable terms or at all. These developments may have a significant effect on our cost of financing and our liquidity position.
We have made cash distributions and intercompany loans to partially finance the development of DISH Network’s 5G Network Deployment, including, but not limited to, the purchase of wireless spectrum licenses and the wireless business to date, and we may make additional funds available to DISH Network in the form of cash distributions or loans to finance, in whole or in part, DISH Network’s future efforts. These factors, including, but not limited to, debt maturities, continuing investment in our business, financing acquisitions and other strategic transactions, may require us to raise additional capital in the future which may not be available on favorable terms, or at all.
Economic Environment
During 2023 and 2024, we experienced inflationary pressures in our commodity and labor costs resulting from the macroeconomic environment in the United States, which has significantly impacted our overall operating results.
Operational Liquidity
We make general investments in property such as, among others, satellites, set-top boxes, information technology and facilities that support our Pay-TV business. Moreover, since we are a subscriber-based company, we also make subscriber-specific investments to acquire new subscribers and retain existing subscribers. While the general investments may be deferred without impacting the business in the short-term, the subscriber-specific investments are less discretionary. Our overall objective is to generate sufficient cash flow over the life of each subscriber to provide an adequate return against the upfront investment. Once the upfront investment has been made for each subscriber, the subsequent cash flow is generally positive, but there can be no assurance that over time we will recoup or earn a return on the upfront investment.
There are a number of factors that impact our future cash flow compared to the cash flow we generate at a given point in time. The first factor is our churn rate and how successful we are at retaining our current subscribers. To the extent we lose subscribers from our existing base, the positive cash flow from that base is correspondingly reduced. The second factor is how successful we are at maintaining our service margins. To the extent our “Cost of services” grow faster than our “Service revenue,” the amount of cash flow that is generated per existing subscriber is reduced. Our Pay-TV service margins have been reduced by, among other things, higher programming costs. The third factor is the rate at which we acquire new subscribers. The faster we acquire new subscribers, the more our positive ongoing cash flow from existing subscribers is offset by the negative upfront cash flow associated with acquiring new subscribers. Conversely, the slower we acquire subscribers, the more our operating cash flow is enhanced in that period.
Finally, our future cash flow is impacted by, among other things, the rate at which we make general investments, incur litigation expense, make cash interest payments, and any cash flow from financing activities. In addition, declines in our Pay-TV subscriber base and any decrease in subscriber-related margins negatively impact our cash flow, and there can be no assurance that our subscriber declines will not continue.
Availability of Credit and Effect on Liquidity
The ability to raise capital has generally existed for us despite economic weakness and uncertainty. While modest fluctuations in the cost of capital will not likely impact our current operational plans, significant fluctuations could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Debt Issuances and Maturity
New DISH DBS Financing
On September 29, 2024 (the “Financing Closing Date”), we and our subsidiary, DBS SubscriberCo, received $2.5 billion in financing from TPG Angelo Gordon and other co-lenders in the form of Term Loans and Mandatorily Redeemable Preferred Shares (each as defined below and together, the “New DISH DBS Financing”). On the Financing Closing Date, DBS SubscriberCo, entered into an amended and restated limited liability company agreement (the “SubscriberCo LLCA”), pursuant to which, among other things, DBS SubscriberCo issued to certain investors (the “Preferred Members”) redeemable preferred equity interests (the “Preferred Membership Interests”) with an aggregate liquidation preference of $200 million (the “Mandatorily Redeemable Preferred Shares”). Approximately $2.047 billion in proceeds received from the New DISH DBS Financing were used for the redemption of the principal balance and remaining interest outstanding on our 5 7/8% Senior Notes due November 15, 2024. The New DISH DBS Financing consists of the following: (i) initial term loans in an aggregate principal amount of $1.8 billion that mature on June 30, 2029 (the “Term Loan due 2029”), (ii) incremental term loans in an aggregate principal amount of $500 million that are payable in equal monthly installments which began in January 2025 and mature on September 30, 2025 (the “Term Loan due 2025”) and (iii) $200 million Mandatorily Redeemable Preferred Shares that mature on June 30, 2029.
Interest on the Term Loans accrues and is payable monthly, generally in cash. The interest rate with respect to the Term Loan due 2029 is (i) from (and including) the Financing Closing Date and until (but excluding) the date that is twelve months thereafter, 10.75% per annum and (ii) from (and including) the date that is twelve months after the Financing Closing Date and until June 30, 2029, 11.25% per annum. The interest rate with respect to the Term Loan due 2025 is 11.00% per annum. The Preferred Membership Interests have a preferential cumulative return that accumulates daily in arrears at a rate of: (a) from (and including) the Financing Closing Date and until (but excluding) the date that is 12 months thereafter, 13.25% per annum and (b) from (and including) the date that is 12 months after the Financing Closing Date and until June 30, 2029 (or the first business day thereafter), 13.75% per annum, payable in cash monthly and a liquidation preference equal to the issue price plus all accrued and unpaid dividends.
5 7/8% Senior Notes due 2022
Our 5 7/8% Senior Notes due 2022 with an aggregate principal balance of $2.0 billion were repurchased or redeemed as of July 15, 2022, the instrument’s maturity date.
5% Senior Notes due 2023
Our 5% Senior Notes due 2023 with an aggregate principal balance of $1.5 billion were repurchased or redeemed as of March 15, 2023, the instrument’s maturity date.
5 7/8% Senior Notes due 2024
Our 5 7/8% Senior Notes due 2024 with an aggregate principal balance of $2.0 billion were repurchased or redeemed as of November 15, 2024, the instrument’s maturity date.
Covenants and Restrictions Related to our Long-Term Debt
We are subject to the covenants and restrictions set forth in the indentures related to our long-term debt. In particular, the indentures related to our outstanding senior notes and senior secured notes contain restrictive covenants that, among other things, impose limitations on our ability to: (i) incur additional indebtedness; (ii) enter into sale and leaseback transactions; (iii) pay dividends or make distributions on our capital stock or repurchase our capital stock; (iv) make certain investments; (v) create liens; (vi) enter into certain transactions with affiliates; (vii) merge or consolidate with another company; and (viii) transfer or sell assets. Should we fail to comply with these covenants, all or a portion of the debt under the senior notes, senior secured notes and our other long-term debt could become immediately payable. The senior notes and senior secured notes also provide that the debt may be required to be prepaid if certain change-in-control events occur. As of the date of filing of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, we were in compliance with the covenants and restrictions related to our respective long-term debt.
New Accounting Pronouncements
See Note 2 in the Notes to our Consolidated Financial Statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further information.
EXPLANATION OF KEY METRICS AND OTHER ITEMS
Service revenue. “Service revenue” consists principally of Pay-TV subscriber revenue. Certain of the amounts included in “Service revenue” are not recurring on a monthly basis.
Equipment sales and other revenue. “Equipment sales and other revenue” principally includes the non-subsidized sales of Pay-TV equipment and the licensing of certain intellectual property.
Cost of services. “Cost of services” principally includes Pay-TV programming expenses and other operating costs related to our Pay-TV services.
Cost of sales - equipment and other. “Cost of sales - equipment and other” principally includes the cost of the non-subsidized sales of Pay-TV equipment. Costs are generally recognized as products are delivered to customers and the related revenue is recognized.
Selling, general and administrative expenses. “Selling, general and administrative expenses” consists primarily of direct sales costs, advertising and selling costs, third-party commissions related to the acquisition of subscribers and employee-related costs associated with administrative services such as legal, information systems, and accounting and finance. In addition, “Selling, general and administrative expenses” includes costs related to the installation of equipment for our new Pay-TV subscribers and the cost of subsidized sales of Pay-TV equipment for new subscribers.
Impairment of long-lived assets and goodwill. “Impairment of long-lived assets and goodwill” includes our impairment losses related to our property and equipment, regulatory authorizations, goodwill and other intangible assets.
Interest expense, net of amounts capitalized. “Interest expense, net of amounts capitalized” primarily includes interest expense associated with our long-term debt (net of capitalized interest), prepayment premiums, amortization of debt discounts and debt issuance costs associated with our long-term debt, and interest expense associated with our finance lease obligations.
Other, net. The main components of “Other, net” are gains and losses realized on the sale and/or conversion of marketable and non-marketable investment securities, impairment of marketable and non-marketable investment securities, unrealized gains and losses from changes in fair value of certain marketable and non-marketable investment securities and equity in earnings and losses of our affiliates.
Operating income before depreciation and amortization (“OIBDA”). OIBDA is defined as “Operating income (loss)” plus “Depreciation and amortization.” This “non-GAAP measure” is reconciled to “Operating income (loss)” in our discussion of “Results of Operations” below.
DISH TV subscribers. We include customers obtained through direct sales, independent third-party retailers and other independent third-party distribution relationships in our DISH TV subscriber count. We also provide DISH TV services to hotels, motels and other commercial accounts. For certain of these commercial accounts, we divide our total revenue for these commercial accounts by $34.99, and include the resulting number, which is substantially smaller than the actual number of commercial units served, in our DISH TV subscriber count.
SLING TV subscribers. We include customers obtained through direct sales and third-party marketing agreements in our SLING TV subscriber count. SLING TV subscriber additions are recorded net of disconnects. SLING TV customers receiving SLING TV Freestream service, or service for no charge, under certain new subscriber promotions, are excluded from our SLING TV subscriber count. For customers who subscribe to multiple SLING TV packages, each customer is only counted as one SLING TV subscriber.
Pay-TV subscribers. Our Pay-TV subscriber count includes all DISH TV and SLING TV subscribers discussed above. For customers who subscribe to both our DISH TV services and our SLING TV services, each subscription is counted as a separate Pay-TV subscriber.
Pay-TV average monthly revenue per subscriber (“Pay-TV ARPU”). We are not aware of any uniform standards for calculating ARPU and believe presentations of ARPU may not be calculated consistently by other companies in the same or similar businesses. We calculate Pay-TV average monthly revenue per Pay-TV subscriber, or Pay-TV ARPU, by dividing average monthly Pay-TV “Service revenue” for the period by our average number of Pay-TV subscribers for the period. The average number of Pay-TV subscribers is calculated for the period by adding the average number of Pay-TV subscribers for each month and dividing by the number of months in the period. The average number of Pay-TV subscribers for each month is calculated by adding the beginning and ending Pay-TV subscribers for the month and dividing by two. SLING TV subscribers on average purchase lower priced programming services than DISH TV subscribers, and therefore, as SLING TV subscribers increase as a percentage of total Pay-TV subscribers, it has had a negative impact on Pay-TV ARPU.
DISH TV average monthly subscriber churn rate (“DISH TV churn rate”). We are not aware of any uniform standards for calculating subscriber churn rate and believe presentations of subscriber churn rates may not be calculated consistently by different companies in the same or similar businesses. We calculate our DISH TV churn rate for any period by dividing the number of DISH TV subscribers who terminated service during the period by the average number of DISH TV subscribers for the same period, and further dividing by the number of months in the period. The average number of DISH TV subscribers is calculated for the period by adding the average number of DISH TV subscribers for each month and dividing by the number of months in the period. The average number of DISH TV subscribers for each month is calculated by adding the beginning and ending DISH TV subscribers for the month and dividing by two.
DISH TV SAC. Subscriber acquisition cost measures are commonly used by those evaluating traditional companies in the pay-TV industry. We are not aware of any uniform standards for calculating the “average subscriber acquisition costs per new DISH TV subscriber activation,” or DISH TV SAC, and we believe presentations of pay-TV SAC may not be calculated consistently by different companies in the same or similar businesses. Our DISH TV SAC is calculated using all costs of acquiring DISH TV subscribers (e.g., subsidized equipment, advertising, installation, commissions and direct sales, etc.) which are included in “Selling, general and administrative expenses,” plus capitalized payments made under certain sales incentive programs and the value of equipment capitalized under our lease program for new DISH TV subscribers, divided by gross new DISH TV subscriber activations. We include all new DISH TV subscribers in our calculation, including DISH TV subscribers added with little or no subscriber acquisition costs.
Pay-TV
We offer Pay-TV services under the DISH® brand and the SLING® brand. As of December 31, 2024, we had 7.778 million Pay-TV subscribers in the United States, including 5.686 million DISH TV subscribers and 2.092 million SLING TV subscribers.
We promote our Pay-TV services by providing our subscribers with better service, technology and value than those available from other subscription television service providers. We offer a wide selection of video services under the DISH TV brand, with access to hundreds of channels depending on the level of subscription. Our standard programming packages generally include programming provided by national cable networks. We also offer programming packages that include local broadcast networks, specialty sports channels, premium movie channels and Latino and international programming. We market our SLING TV services to consumers who do not subscribe to traditional satellite and cable pay-TV services, as well as to current and recent traditional pay-TV subscribers who desire a lower cost alternative. Our SLING TV services require an Internet connection and are available on multiple streaming-capable devices including, among others, streaming media devices, TVs, tablets, computers, game consoles and phones. We offer SLING domestic, SLING International, SLING Latino and SLING Freestream video programming services.
Trends
Competition
Competition has intensified in recent years as the pay-TV industry has matured. We and our competitors increasingly must seek to attract a greater proportion of new subscribers from each other’s existing subscriber bases rather than from first-time purchasers of pay-TV services. We face substantial competition from established pay-TV providers and broadband service providers and increasing competition from companies providing/facilitating the delivery of video content via the Internet to computers, televisions, and other streaming and mobile devices, including wireless service providers. In recent years, industry consolidation and convergence has created competitors with greater scale and multiple product/service offerings. These developments, among others, have contributed to intense and increasing competition, and we expect such competition to continue.
We incur significant costs to retain our existing DISH TV subscribers, generally as a result of upgrading their equipment to next generation receivers, primarily including our Hopper® receivers, and by providing retention credits. Our DISH TV subscriber retention costs may vary significantly from period to period.
Many of our competitors have been especially aggressive by offering discounted programming and services for both new and existing subscribers, including, but not limited to, bundled offers combining broadband, video and/or wireless services and other promotional offers. Certain competitors have been able to subsidize the price of video services with the price of broadband and/or wireless services.
Our Pay-TV services also face increased competition from programmers and other companies who distribute video directly to consumers over the Internet, as well as traditional satellite television providers, cable companies and large telecommunications companies that are rapidly increasing their Internet-based video offerings and direct-to-consumer exclusive and non-exclusive content. We also face competition from providers of video content, many of which are providers of programming content to us, that distribute content over the Internet including services with live-linear television programming, as well as single programmer offerings and offerings of large libraries of on-demand content, including in certain cases original content. These product offerings include, but are not limited to: Netflix, Hulu, Apple+, Prime Video, YouTube TV, Disney+, ESPN+, Paramount+, Max, STARZ, Peacock, Fubo, Philo and Tubi and certain bundles of these offerings.
Significant changes in consumer behavior regarding the means by which consumers obtain video entertainment and information in response to digital media competition could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition or otherwise disrupt our business. In particular, consumers have shown increased interest in viewing certain video programming in any place, at any time and/or on any broadband or Internet-connected device they choose. Online content providers may cause our subscribers to disconnect our DISH TV services (“cord cutting”), downgrade to smaller, less expensive programming packages (“cord shaving”) or elect to purchase through these online content providers a certain portion of the services that they would have historically purchased from us.
Mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and alliances among cable television providers, telecommunications companies, programming providers and others may result in, among other things, greater scale and financial leverage and increase the availability of offerings from providers capable of bundling video, broadband and/or wireless services in competition with our services and may exacerbate the risks described under the caption “Item 1A. Risk Factors” and elsewhere in our public filings. These transactions may affect us adversely by, among other things, making it more difficult for us to obtain access to certain programming networks on nondiscriminatory and fair terms, or at all.
Our Pay-TV subscriber base has been declining due to, among other things, the factors described above. There can be no assurance that our Pay-TV subscriber base will not continue to decline and that the pace of such decline will not accelerate. As our Pay-TV subscriber base continues to decline, it could have a material adverse long-term effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flow.
Programming
Our ability to compete successfully will depend, among other things, on our ability to continue to obtain desirable programming and deliver it to our subscribers at competitive prices. Programming costs represent a large percentage of our “Cost of services” and the largest component of our total expense. We expect these costs to continue to increase due to contractual price increases and the renewal of long-term programming contracts on less favorable pricing terms and certain programming costs are rising at a much faster rate than wages or inflation. In particular, the rates we are charged for retransmitting local broadcast channels have been increasing substantially and may exceed our ability to increase our prices to our subscribers. Our ability to provide services under these agreements and negotiate acceptable terms depends on, among other things, the number of subscribers we have, our actual, perceived or anticipated financial condition and our negotiating power against each programmer, which can vary depending on the size and scale of such programmer. Going forward, our margins may face pressure if we are unable to renew our long-term programming contracts on acceptable pricing and other economic terms or if we are unable to pass these increased programming costs on to our subscribers.
Increases in programming costs have caused us to increase the rates that we charge to our subscribers, which could in turn cause our existing Pay-TV subscribers to disconnect our services or cause potential new Pay-TV subscribers to choose not to subscribe to our services. Additionally, even if our subscribers do not disconnect our services, they may purchase through new and existing online content providers a certain portion of the services that they would have historically purchased from us.
Furthermore, our net Pay-TV subscriber additions, gross new DISH TV subscriber activations, and DISH TV churn rate may be negatively impacted if we are unable to renew our long-term programming carriage contracts. In the past, our net Pay-TV subscriber additions, gross new DISH TV subscriber activations, and DISH TV churn rate have been negatively impacted as a result of programming interruptions and threatened programming interruptions in connection with the scheduled expiration of programming carriage contracts with content providers. There can be no assurance that the removal of any channels will not have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition or otherwise disrupt our business.
We cannot predict with any certainty the impact to our net Pay-TV subscriber additions, gross new DISH TV subscriber activations, and DISH TV churn rate resulting from programming interruptions or threatened programming interruptions that may occur in the future. As a result, we may at times suffer from periods of lower net Pay-TV subscriber additions or higher net Pay-TV subscriber losses.
Other Developments
Adaptive Bitrate Streaming Patents
Through our subsidiaries, we hold dozens of issued United States and foreign patents that relate to Adaptive Bitrate Streaming. On September 9, 2022, the chief administrative law judge at the United States International Trade Commission (“ITC”) issued an Initial Determination holding that the video streaming in certain Peloton, NordicTrack and Mirror exercise equipment infringes four of those patents, and recommended that the ITC prevent the importation of the infringing products. On March 8, 2023, the ITC issued its Final Determination, which affirmed the Initial Determination for three of the four patents in all material aspects, and issued the recommended exclusion and cease and desist orders, which will become effective after a Presidential review period. On February 9, 2023, we entered into a confidential license agreement covering Mirror exercise equipment that resolves our litigation involving those products. On May 1, 2023, we entered into a $75 million license agreement covering Peloton exercise equipment that resolves our litigation involving those products. During the year ended December 31, 2023, we recorded the $75 million license agreement in “Equipment sales and other revenue” on our Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss). On March 6, 2024, we entered into a license agreement covering NordicTrack exercise equipment that resolves our litigation involving those products and received the initial payment.
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Year Ended December 31, 2024 Compared to the Year Ended December 31, 2023.
For the Years Ended December 31,
Variance
Statements of Operations Data
Amount
%
(In thousands)
Revenue:
Service revenue
$
10,564,288
$
11,320,526
$
(756,238)
(6.7)
Equipment sales and other revenue
53,749
153,699
(99,950)
(65.0)
Total revenue
10,618,037
11,474,225
(856,188)
(7.5)
Costs and Expenses:
Cost of services
6,691,649
7,100,543
(408,894)
(5.8)
% of Service revenue
63.3
%
62.7
%
Cost of sales - equipment and other
73,384
78,219
(4,835)
(6.2)
Selling, general and administrative expenses
1,064,544
1,375,908
(311,364)
(22.6)
% of Total revenue
10.0
%
12.0
%
Depreciation and amortization
276,031
315,660
(39,629)
(12.6)
Impairment of long-lived assets and goodwill
-
6,457
(6,457)
*
Total costs and expenses
8,105,608
8,876,787
(771,179)
(8.7)
Operating income (loss)
2,512,429
2,597,438
(85,009)
(3.3)
Other Income (Expense):
Interest income
306,669
464,939
(158,270)
(34.0)
Interest expense, net of amounts capitalized
(816,494)
(753,162)
(63,332)
(8.4)
Other, net
(65,174)
(65,692)
*
Total other income (expense)
(574,999)
(287,705)
(287,294)
(99.9)
Income (loss) before income taxes
1,937,430
2,309,733
(372,303)
(16.1)
Income tax (provision) benefit, net
(489,850)
(565,104)
75,254
13.3
Effective tax rate
25.3
%
24.5
%
Net income (loss)
$
1,447,580
$
1,744,629
$
(297,049)
(17.0)
Other Data:
Pay-TV subscribers, as of period end (in millions)
7.778
8.526
(0.748)
(8.8)
DISH TV subscribers, as of period end (in millions)
5.686
6.471
(0.785)
(12.1)
SLING TV subscribers, as of period end (in millions)
2.092
2.055
0.037
1.8
Pay-TV subscriber additions (losses), net (in millions)
(0.748)
(1.224)
0.476
38.9
DISH TV subscriber additions (losses), net (in millions)
(0.785)
(0.945)
0.160
16.9
SLING TV subscriber additions (losses), net (in millions)
0.037
(0.279)
0.316
*
Pay-TV ARPU
$
108.90
$
104.56
$
4.34
4.2
DISH TV subscriber additions, gross (in millions)
0.282
0.464
(0.182)
(39.2)
DISH TV churn rate
1.46
%
1.69
%
(0.23)
%
(13.6)
DISH TV SAC
$
$
1,118
$
(119)
(10.6)
Purchases of property and equipment, net of refunds
$
88,756
$
132,607
$
(43,851)
(33.1)
OIBDA
$
2,788,460
$
2,913,098
$
(124,638)
(4.3)
*
Percentage is not meaningful.
Pay-TV Subscribers
DISH TV subscribers. We lost approximately 785,000 net DISH TV subscribers during the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the loss of approximately 945,000 net DISH TV subscribers during the same period in 2023. This decrease in net DISH TV subscriber losses primarily resulted from a lower DISH TV churn rate, partially offset by lower gross new DISH TV subscriber activations.
SLING TV subscribers. We added approximately 37,000 net SLING TV subscribers during the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the loss of approximately 279,000 net SLING TV subscribers during the same period in 2023. The change in net SLING TV subscribers was primarily related to lower SLING TV subscriber disconnects in 2024 due to our emphasis on acquiring higher quality subscribers, partially offset by lower SLING TV subscriber activations. We continue to experience increased competition, including competition from other subscription video on-demand and live-linear OTT service providers, many of which are providers of our content and offer football and other seasonal sports programming direct to subscribers on an a la carte basis.
DISH TV subscribers, gross. During the year ended December 31, 2024, we activated approximately 282,000 gross new DISH TV subscribers compared to approximately 464,000 gross new DISH TV subscribers during the same period in 2023, a decrease of 39.2%. This decrease in our gross new DISH TV subscriber activations was primarily related to lower marketing expenditures, the lack of demand and shifting consumer behavior, as well as increased competitive pressures, including, but not limited to, live-linear OTT service providers, aggressive short term introductory pricing and bundled offers combining broadband, video and/or wireless services and other discounted promotional offers and direct-to-consumer offerings by certain of our programmers. Our gross new DISH TV subscriber activations continue to be negatively impacted by an emphasis on acquiring higher quality subscribers.
DISH TV churn rate. Our DISH TV churn rate for the year ended December 31, 2024 was 1.46% compared to 1.69% for the same period in 2023. Our DISH TV churn rate for the year ended December 31, 2024 was positively impacted by our emphasis on acquiring and retaining higher quality subscribers. Our DISH TV churn rate continues to be adversely impacted by external factors, such as, among other things, cord cutting, shifting consumer behavior and increased competitive pressures, including, but not limited to, live-linear OTT service providers, aggressive marketing, bundled discount offers combining broadband, video and/or wireless services and other discounted promotional offers. Our DISH TV churn rate is also impacted by internal factors, such as, among other things, our ability to consistently provide outstanding customer service, price increases, our ability to control piracy and other forms of fraud, and the level of our retention efforts. In addition, our DISH TV churn rate for the year ended December 31, 2023 was briefly elevated due to a cybersecurity incident in the first quarter of 2023.
Our net Pay-TV subscriber additions, gross new DISH TV subscriber activations and DISH TV churn rate have been negatively impacted as a result of programming interruptions and threatened programming interruptions in connection with the scheduled expiration of programming carriage contracts with content providers. We cannot predict with any certainty the impact to our net Pay-TV subscriber additions, gross new DISH TV subscriber activations and DISH TV subscriber churn rate resulting from programming interruptions or threatened programming interruptions that may occur in the future. As a result, we may at times suffer from periods of lower net Pay-TV subscriber additions or higher net Pay-TV subscriber losses.
We have not always met our own standards for performing high-quality installations, effectively resolving subscriber issues when they arise, answering subscriber calls in an acceptable timeframe, effectively communicating with our subscriber base, reducing calls driven by the complexity of our business, improving the reliability of certain systems and subscriber equipment and aligning the interests of certain independent third-party retailers and installers to provide high-quality service. Most of these factors have affected both gross new DISH TV subscriber activations as well as DISH TV subscriber churn rate. Our future gross new DISH TV subscriber activations and our DISH TV subscriber churn rate may be negatively impacted by these factors, which could in turn adversely affect our revenue.
Service revenue. “Service revenue” totaled $10.564 billion for the year ended December 31, 2024, a decrease of $756 million or 6.7% compared to the same period in 2023. The decrease in “Service revenue” compared to the same period in 2023 was primarily related to lower average Pay-TV subscriber base, partially offset by an increase in Pay-TV ARPU, discussed below.
Equipment sales and other revenue. “Equipment sales and other revenue” totaled $54 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, a decrease of $100 million or 65.0% compared to the same period in 2023. The decrease in “Equipment sales and other revenue” compared to the same period in 2023 was primarily related to a non-recurring $75 million license of our Adaptive Bitrate Streaming patents to Peloton covering certain Peloton products that resolves our litigation involving those products during the second quarter of 2023.
Pay-TV ARPU. Pay-TV ARPU was $108.90 during the year ended December 31, 2024 versus $104.56 during the same period in 2023. The $4.34 or 4.2% increase in Pay-TV ARPU was primarily attributable to DISH TV and SLING TV programming price increases and higher Pay-TV ad sales revenue. The DISH TV and SLING TV programming package price increases were effective in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Cost of services. “Cost of services” totaled $6.692 billion during the year ended December 31, 2024, a decrease of $409 million or 5.8% compared to the same period in 2023. The decrease in “Cost of services” was primarily attributable to a lower average Pay-TV subscriber base and lower variable and retention costs per subscriber due to, among other things, operational efficiencies, partially offset by higher programming costs per subscriber. Programming costs per subscriber increased during the year ended December 31, 2024 due to rate increases in certain of our programming contracts, including the renewal of certain contracts at higher rates, particularly for local broadcast channels. Variable and retention costs per subscriber during the year ended December 31, 2023 were negatively impacted by approximately $30 million in cybersecurity-related expenses to remediate a cybersecurity incident and provide additional customer support. “Cost of services” represented 63.3% and 62.7% of “Service revenue” during the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
In the normal course of business, we enter into contracts to purchase programming content in which our payment obligations are generally contingent on the number of Pay-TV subscribers to whom we provide the respective content. Our “Cost of services” have and will continue to face further upward pressure from price increases and the renewal of long-term programming contracts on less favorable pricing terms. In addition, our programming expenses will increase to the extent we are successful in growing our Pay-TV subscriber base.
Selling, general and administrative expenses. “Selling, general and administrative expenses” totaled $1.065 billion during the year ended December 31, 2024, a $311 million or 22.6% decrease compared to the same period in 2023. This change was primarily driven by a decrease in subscriber acquisition costs resulting from lower marketing expenditures and lower gross new DISH TV subscriber activations and a decrease in personnel costs.
Depreciation and amortization. “Depreciation and amortization” expense totaled $276 million during the year ended December 31, 2024, a $40 million or 12.6% decrease compared to the same period in 2023. This change was primarily driven by a decrease in depreciation expense from equipment leased to new and existing DISH TV subscribers and the expiration of our Nimiq 5 finance lease in September 2024.
Impairment of long-lived assets and goodwill. “Impairment of long-lived assets and goodwill” totaled $6 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. This impairment represents a noncash impairment charge for goodwill. See Note 2 in the Notes to our Consolidated Financial Statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further information.
DISH TV SAC. DISH TV SAC was $999 during the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to $1,118 during the same period in 2023, a decrease of $119 or 10.6%. This change was primarily attributable to a decrease in advertising costs per subscriber and a higher percentage of remanufactured receivers being activated on new subscriber accounts, partially offset by higher commission costs due to our emphasis on acquiring higher quality subscribers.
During the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, the amount of equipment capitalized under our lease program for new DISH TV subscribers totaled $26 million and $54 million, respectively. This decrease in capital expenditures primarily resulted from a decrease in gross new DISH TV subscriber activations and a higher percentage of remanufactured receivers being activated on new subscriber accounts.
To remain competitive, we upgrade or replace subscriber equipment periodically as technology changes, and the costs associated with these upgrades may be substantial. To the extent technological changes render a portion of our existing equipment obsolete, we would be unable to redeploy all returned equipment and consequently would realize less benefit from the DISH TV SAC reduction associated with redeployment of that returned lease equipment.
Our “DISH TV SAC” may materially increase in the future to the extent that we, among other things, transition to newer technologies, introduce more aggressive promotions, or provide greater equipment subsidies.
Interest income. “Interest income” totaled $307 million during the year ended December 31, 2024, a decrease of $158 million or 34.0% compared to the same period in 2023. This decrease was primarily related to the reduction in interest income associated with our Intercompany Loan to DISH Network. On January 10, 2024, $4.7 billion of this receivable was transferred to EchoStar, our ultimate parent. This change was partially offset by the increase in interest income associated with the additional intercompany loans to DISH Network. See Note 15 in the Notes to our Consolidated Financial Statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further information.
Interest expense, net of amounts capitalized. “Interest expense, net of amounts capitalized” totaled $816 million during the year ended December 31, 2024, an increase of $63 million or 8.4% compared to the same period in 2023. This change was primarily related to an increase in interest expense as a result of the issuance of new debt during 2024, partially offset by a reduction in interest expense resulting from debt redemptions during 2023 and 2024.
Other, net. “Other, net” expense totaled $65 million during the year ended December 31, 2024, an increase of $66 million compared to the same period in 2023. The year ended December 31, 2024 was negatively impacted by a $67 million loss in equity in earnings, including $63 million from our portion of Invidi’s goodwill impairment.
Income tax (provision) benefit, net. Our income tax provision was $490 million during the year ended December 31, 2024, a decrease of $75 million or 13.3% compared to the same period in 2023. The change was primarily related to a decrease in “Income (loss) before income taxes.”
Non-GAAP Performance Measures and Reconciliation
It is management’s intent to provide non-GAAP financial information to enhance the understanding of our financial information prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”), and it should be considered by the reader in addition to, but not instead of, the financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP. Each non-GAAP financial measure is presented along with the corresponding GAAP measure so as not to imply that more emphasis should be placed on the non-GAAP measure. We believe that providing these non-GAAP measures in addition to the GAAP measures allows management, investors and other users of our financial information to more fully and accurately assess both consolidated and segment performance. The non-GAAP financial information presented may be determined or calculated differently by other companies and may not be directly comparable to that of other companies.
OIBDA
OIBDA, which is presented below, is a non-GAAP measure and does not purport to be an alternative to operating income (loss) as a measure of operating performance. We believe this measure is useful to management, investors and other users of our financial information in evaluating operating profitability of our business on a more variable cost basis as it excludes the depreciation and amortization expenses related primarily to capital expenditures and acquisitions, as well as in evaluating operating performance in relation to our competitors. OIBDA is calculated by adding back depreciation and amortization expense to operating income (loss).
For the Years Ended December 31,
(In thousands)
Operating income (loss)
$
2,512,429
$
2,597,438
$
2,822,656
Depreciation and amortization
276,031
315,660
354,361
OIBDA
$
2,788,460
$
2,913,098
$
3,177,017
The changes in OIBDA during the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022 were primarily a result of the factors described in connection with operating revenues and operating expenses.
GUARANTOR FINANCIAL INFORMATION
Our registered senior notes, consisting of our 7 3/4% Senior Notes due 2026, 7 3/8% Senior Notes due 2028, and 5 1/8% Senior Notes due 2029, are fully and unconditionally guaranteed, jointly and severally on a senior unsecured basis by certain of our wholly-owned subsidiaries (the “Guarantors”).
Certain of our wholly-owned subsidiaries are designated as “Unrestricted Subsidiaries” and do not guarantee any of our registered senior notes.
We and our subsidiaries participate with our parent company, DISH Network, in a centralized system for the management of our cash and marketable investment securities. Please see Note 3 to our Consolidated Financial Statements for further information.
The guarantee of a Guarantor will be deemed automatically discharged and released in accordance with the terms of the applicable indenture: (i) in connection with any direct or indirect sale, conveyance or other disposition of all of the capital stock or all or substantially all of the assets of that Guarantor (including by way of merger or consolidation), if such sale or disposition is made in compliance with the applicable provisions of the indenture; (ii) if such Guarantor is dissolved or liquidated in accordance with the provisions of the indenture; (iii) if we designate any such Guarantor as an “Unrestricted Subsidiary” in compliance with the terms of the indenture; or (iv) with respect to a Guarantor which constitutes a Non-Core Asset (as such term is defined in the applicable indenture), upon the sale or other disposition of certain equity interests of such Guarantor, if such sale or disposition is made in compliance with the applicable provisions of the indenture. There are no restrictions on our ability to obtain cash dividends or other distributions of funds from the Guarantors, except those imposed by applicable law.
The rights of holders of the registered senior notes against the Guarantors may be limited under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code or state fraudulent transfer or conveyance law. Under certain circumstances (including a finding that a Guarantor was insolvent at the time its guarantee of the registered senior notes was issued), a court could hold that the obligations of a Guarantor under a guarantee may be voided or are subordinate to other obligations of the Guarantor. Each guarantee contains a provision intended to limit the Guarantor’s liability to the maximum amount that it could incur without causing the incurrence of obligations under its guarantee to be a fraudulent conveyance or transfer under U.S. federal or state law.
The summarized balance sheet information for the combined obligor group of our registered senior notes is presented in the table below.
As of December 31,
(In thousands)
Current assets
$
1,780,162
$
2,337,400
Noncurrent assets
6,395,280
9,256,110
Current liabilities
2,147,507
4,435,452
Noncurrent liabilities
12,617,150
10,294,282
Due from non-guarantors
594,492
589,361
Due from related parties
4,928,291
7,945,151
Due to non-guarantors
2,403,527
-
Due to related parties
34,273
55,392
The summarized results of operations information for the combined obligor group of our registered senior notes is presented in the table below.
For the Year Ended
December 31, 2024
(In thousands)
Total revenues
$
4,771,941
Operating income
794,123
Net income
205,977
Operating expenses to related parties
261,995
Other income from related parties
267,440

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ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
Item 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
Market Risks Associated with Financial Instruments
Our investments and debt are exposed to market risks, discussed below.
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Current Marketable Investment Securities
As of December 31, 2024, our unrestricted cash, cash equivalents and current marketable investment securities had a fair value of $419 million. Of that amount, a total of $419 million was invested in: (a) cash; (b) money market funds; (c) debt instruments of the United States Government and its agencies; (d) commercial paper and corporate notes with an overall average maturity of less than one year and rated in one of the four highest rating categories by at least two nationally recognized statistical rating organizations; and/or (e) instruments with similar risk, duration and credit quality characteristics to the commercial paper and corporate obligations described above. The primary purpose of these investing activities has been to preserve principal until the cash is required to, among other things, continue investing in our business, pursue acquisitions and other strategic transactions, fund ongoing operations, repay debt obligations and expand our business. Consequently, the size of this portfolio can fluctuate significantly as cash is received and used in our business for these or other purposes. The value of this portfolio is negatively impacted by credit losses; however, this risk is mitigated through diversification that limits our exposure to any one issuer.
Interest Rate Risk
A change in interest rates would affect the fair value of our cash, cash equivalents and current marketable investment securities portfolio; however, we normally hold these investments to maturity. Based on our December 31, 2024 current non-strategic investment portfolio of $419 million, a hypothetical 10% change in average interest rates would not have a material impact on the fair value due to the limited duration of our investments.
Our cash, cash equivalents and current marketable investment securities had an average annual rate of return for the year ended December 31, 2024 of 5.8%. A change in interest rates would affect our future annual interest income from this portfolio, since funds would be re-invested at different rates as the instruments mature. A hypothetical 10% decrease in average interest rates during 2024 would result in a decrease of approximately $2 million in annual interest income.
Restricted Cash, Cash Equivalents and Marketable Investment Securities
As of December 31, 2024, we had $210 million of restricted cash, cash equivalents and marketable investment securities invested in: (a) cash; (b) money market funds; (c) debt instruments of the United States Government and its agencies; and/or (d) instruments with similar risk, duration and credit quality characteristics to commercial paper. Based on our December 31, 2024 investment portfolio, a hypothetical 10% increase in average interest rates would not have a material impact on the fair value of our restricted cash, cash equivalents and marketable investment securities.
Debt
As of December 31, 2024, we had debt of $12.282 billion, excluding finance lease obligations and unamortized deferred financing costs and debt discounts, on our Consolidated Balance Sheets. We estimated the fair value of this debt to be approximately $10.537 billion using quoted market prices. The fair value of our debt is affected by fluctuations in interest rates. A hypothetical 10% decrease in assumed interest rates would increase the fair value of our debt by approximately $351 million. To the extent interest rates increase, our future costs of financing would increase at the time of any future financings. As of December 31, 2024, primarily all of our long-term debt consisted of fixed rate indebtedness.
Derivative Financial Instruments
From time to time, we invest in speculative financial instruments, including derivatives. As of December 31, 2024, we did not hold any derivative financial instruments.

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ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
Item 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
Our consolidated financial statements are included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K beginning on page .

---

ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS
Item 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE
Not applicable.

---

ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
Item 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
Disclosure controls and procedures
Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, we evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) as of the end of the period covered by this report. Based upon that evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of the end of the period covered by this report.
Changes in internal control over financial reporting
There has been no change in our internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 13a-15(f) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) during our most recent fiscal quarter that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting. Our internal control over financial reporting is designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles.
Our internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that:
(i) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect our transactions and dispositions of our assets;
(ii) provide reasonable assurance that our transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of our financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that our receipts and expenditures are being made only in accordance with authorizations of our management and our directors; and
(iii) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of our assets that could have a material effect on our financial statements.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with policies or procedures may deteriorate.
Our management conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting based on the framework in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). Based on this evaluation, our management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2024.

---

ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION
Item 9B.OTHER INFORMATION
None

---

ITEM 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

---

ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

---

ITEM 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS

---

ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS

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ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES
Item 14.PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES
Appointment of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
Appointment of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm for 2024. KPMG LLP served as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024.
EchoStar’s Board of Directors, in its discretion, may direct the appointment of a different independent registered public accounting firm at any time during the year if the Board of Directors believes that a change would be in its best interests.
Fees Paid to KPMG LLP for 2024 and 2023
The following table presents fees for the aggregate professional audit services rendered by KPMG LLP for the annual audit of the financial statements of EchoStar and its subsidiaries for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, and fees billed for other services rendered by KPMG LLP to EchoStar and its subsidiaries during those periods. We have reported the fees billed for services rendered to both EchoStar and its subsidiaries because the services are not rendered or billed specifically for us but for the EchoStar consolidated group as a whole. Prior year fees paid to KPMG for both EchoStar and DISH Network pre-Merger have been combined to be consistent with the current year presentation.
For the Years Ended December 31,
Audit Fees (1)
$
7,756,168
$
9,724,769
Audit-Related Fees
480,000
1,052,603
Tax Compliance Fees
643,786
858,580
All Other Fees (2)
141,744
115,000
Total Fees
$
9,021,698
$
11,750,952
(1) Consists of fees paid by EchoStar and its subsidiaries for the audit of our consolidated financial statements included in EchoStar and its subsidiaries Annual Reports on Form 10-K, review of EchoStar and its subsidiaries unaudited financial statements included in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and fees in connection with the audit of EchoStar and its subsidiaries internal control over financial reporting.
(2) Consists of fees for services related to review of contract compliance.
Policy on Audit Committee Pre-Approval of Audit and Permissible Non-Audit Services of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
EchoStar’s Board of Directors delegated to EchoStar’s Audit Committee the responsibility for appointing, setting compensation, retaining, and overseeing the work of its independent registered public accounting firm until December 31, 2024.
Requests are submitted to the Audit Committee of EchoStar in one of the following ways:
● Request for approval of services at a meeting of the Audit Committee; or
● Request for approval of services by members of the Audit Committee acting by written consent.
The request may be made with respect to either specific services or a type of service for predictable or recurring services. 100% of the fees paid to KPMG LLP for services rendered in 2024 and 2023 were pre-approved by the Audit Committee of EchoStar.
PART IV

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ITEM 15. EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES
Item 15.
EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES
(a)
The following documents are filed as part of this report:
(1)
Financial Statements
Page
Report of KPMG LLP, Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
Consolidated Balance Sheets
Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss)
Consolidated Statements of Changes in Stockholder’s Equity (Deficit)
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
(2)
Financial Statement Schedules
None. All schedules have been included in the consolidated financial statements or notes thereto.
(3)
Exhibits
Exhibit No.
Description
3.1(a)*
Composite Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation of DISH DBS Corporation (incorporated by reference from Exhibit 3.1a to the Annual Report on Form 10-K of DISH DBS Corporation filed April 1, 2024).
3.1(b)*
Bylaws of DISH DBS Corporation (incorporated by reference from Exhibit 3.4(b) to the Registration Statement on Form S-4 of DISH DBS Corporation).
4.1*
Indenture, relating to the 7 3/4% Senior Notes due 2026, dated as of June 13, 2016, among DISH DBS Corporation, the guarantors named on the signature pages thereto and U.S. Bank National Association, as Trustee (incorporated by reference from Exhibit 4.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K of DISH DBS Corporation filed June 13, 2016).
4.2*
Indenture, relating to the 7 3/8% Senior Notes due 2028, dated as of July 1, 2020, among DISH DBS Corporation, the guarantors named on the signature pages thereto and U.S. Bank National Association, as Trustee (incorporated by reference from Exhibit 4.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K of DISH DBS Corporation filed July 1, 2020).
4.3*
Indenture, relating to the 5 1/8% Senior Notes due 2029, dated as of May 24, 2021, among DISH DBS Corporation, the guarantors named on the signature pages thereto and U.S. Bank National Association, as Trustee (incorporated by reference from Exhibit 4.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K of DISH DBS Corporation filed May 24, 2021).
4.4*
Indenture, relating to the 5 1/4% Senior Secured Notes due 2026 and the 5 3/4% Senior Secured Notes due 2028, dated as of November 26, 2021, among DISH DBS Corporation, the guarantors named on the signature pages thereto and U.S. Bank National Association, as Trustee and collateral agent (incorporated by reference from Exhibit 4.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K of DISH DBS Corporation filed November 26, 2021).
4.5*
Security Agreement, dated as of November 26, 2021, among DISH DBS Corporation, the guarantors named on the signature pages thereto and U.S. Bank National Association, as collateral agent (incorporated by reference from Exhibit 4.2 to the Current Report on Form 8-K of DISH DBS Corporation filed November 26, 2021).
4.6*
Loan and Security Agreement, dated as of November 26, 2021, between DISH DBS Corporation and DISH Network Corporation (incorporated by reference from Exhibit 4.3 to the Current Report on Form 8-K of DISH DBS Corporation filed November 26, 2021).
4.7*
Supplemental Indenture relating to the 7 3/4% Senior Notes due 2026 (incorporated by reference from Exhibit 4.16 to the Annual Report on Form 10-K of DISH DBS Corporation filed March 29, 2018).
10.1*
2002 Class B CEO Stock Option Plan (incorporated by reference from Appendix A to DISH Network Corporation’s Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A dated April 9, 2002). **
10.2*
Nonemployee Director Stock Option Agreement (incorporated by reference from Exhibit 99.6 to the Current Report on Form 8-K of DISH Network Corporation filed July 7, 2005). **
10.3*
DISH Network Corporation 2009 Stock Incentive Plan (incorporated by reference from Appendix A to DISH Network Corporation’s Definitive Proxy Statement on Form 14A filed September 19, 2014). **
10.4*
Amended and Restated DISH Network Corporation 2001 Nonemployee Director Stock Option Plan (incorporated by reference from Appendix B to DISH Network Corporation’s Definitive Proxy Statement on Form 14A filed March 31, 2009). **
10.5*
Amended and Restated DISH Network Corporation 1999 Stock Incentive Plan (incorporated by reference from Appendix C to DISH Network Corporation’s Definitive Proxy Statement on Form 14A filed March 31, 2009). **
10.6*
Description of the 2017 Long-Term Incentive Plan dated December 2, 2016 (incorporated by reference from the Current Report on Form 8-K of DISH Network Corporation filed December 8, 2016). **
10.7*
Description of the 2019 Long-Term Incentive Plan dated August 17, 2018 (incorporated by reference from the Current Report on Form 8-K of DISH Network Corporation filed August 23, 2018). **
10.8*
Incentive Stock Option Agreement (incorporated by reference from Exhibit 10.1 to the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q of DISH Network Corporation filed November 6, 2020). **
10.9*
Non-Qualified Stock Option Agreement (incorporated by reference from Exhibit 10.2 to the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q of DISH Network Corporation filed November 6, 2020). **
10.10*
Restricted Stock Unit Agreement (incorporated by reference from Exhibit 10.3 to the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q of DISH Network Corporation filed November 6, 2020). **
10.11*
Loan and Security Agreement, dated September 29, 2024, by and among DISH DBS Issuer LLC, as borrower, Alter Domus (US) LLC, as administrative agent, and the lenders party thereto (incorporated by reference from Exhibit 10.1 of the Current Report on Form 8-K of EchoStar Corporation filed September 30, 2024).
19*
EchoStar Corporation’s Insider Trading Policy (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 19 to EchoStar Corporation’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, filed February 27, 2025).
22◻
List of Subsidiary Guarantors
31.1◻
Section 302 Certification of Chief Executive Officer.
31.2◻
Section 302 Certification of Chief Financial Officer.
32.1◻
Section 906 Certification of Chief Executive Officer.
32.2◻
Section 906 Certification of Chief Financial Officer.
101 ◻
The following materials from the Annual Report on Form 10-K of DISH DBS Corporation for the year ended December 31, 2024, filed on March 19, 2025, formatted in Inline eXtensible Business Reporting Language (“iXBRL”): (i) Consolidated Balance Sheets, (ii) Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss), (iii) Consolidated Statement of Changes in Stockholder’s Equity (Deficit), (iv) Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows, and (v) related notes to these financial statements.
104 ◻
Cover Page Interactive Data File (the cover page XBRL tags are embedded in the Inline XBRL document).
◻
Filed herewith.
*
Incorporated by reference.
**
Constitutes a management contract or compensatory plan or arrangement.
***
Certain portions of the exhibit have been omitted and separately filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission with a request for confidential treatment.