Pay-TV subscribers declined by about 134,000 in the first quarter and Dish activated about 554,000 new subscribers in the quarter, compared with an activation count of 639,000 in the same quarter last year. At the end of the first quarter, Dish claimed 13.84 million pay-TV subscribers, compared 14.1 million at the same time last year. The subscriber count has shrunk in each of the past four quarters.
Average revenue per user (ARPU) rose, compared with the first quarter of 2014, from $82.36 per month to $86.01 per month. The subscriber churn rate was higher, up from 1.42% in the first quarter of last year to 1.65% this year.
ALSO READ: Companies With the Best (and Worst) Reputations
Broadband subscription additions were also lower this quarter. Dish added about 14,000 net broadband subscribers, compared with about 53,000 net additions a year ago. The broadband subscriber base at the end of the first quarter totaled about 591,000, a gain of over 100,000 year-over-year. The number has risen each quarter, but the average is only 25,000 per quarter.
Net income for the quarter rose to $351 million, compared with first quarter 2014 net income of $176 million. The higher ARPU, which the company attributes to higher subscription rates, and a slightly lower subscriber acquisition cost, which Dish said was primarily due to a decrease in hardware costs per activation, overcame the drop in subscriber numbers.
Dish has lost subscribers in each of the past four quarters. The company had nothing to say in its announcement about the Sling TV program that launched during the quarter. The slimmed-down pay-TV package had a few issues during some high-profile events (NCAA Final Four and “Game of Thrones” season premiere).
Dish did not offer guidance, but the consensus estimates call for second quarter EPS of $0.44 on revenues of $3.82 billion. The full-year estimates call for EPS of $1.65 and revenues of $15.2 billion.
Dish Network’s shares were up fractionally in Monday’s premarket session to $66.99, in a 52-week range of $56.17 to $80.75. The consensus target price for the shares was around $82.60 before the report, and the high price target is $109.00.
Top Gaining Stocks
Top Losing Stocks