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• Dish: AT&T wants its money!

  Posted Jun 18 2008, 09:47 AM by Kim Peterson
  Filed under: DirecTV, Verizon, AT&T, Qwest, Dish Network

  

  A big setback for DISH Network has sent shares down 7% today. And while some analysts caution not to read too much into it, I say that DISH has plenty to be worried about.

  AT&T is forcing DISH to pay back $500 million in debt that was supposed to be due in July of 2010. DISH says it has the money to do so, and won't have to take out a loan. AT&T played down the move, telling the Wall Street Journal that the money "could be put to better use." But this is also a clear message that AT&T has no interest in acquiring DISH. AT&T shares fell less than 1% today.   Read More...

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• Has DISH lost its mojo?

  Posted May 13 2008, 10:14 AM by Kim Peterson
  Filed under: AT&T, Dish Network
  Rating:

  

  DISH Network has lost its mojo, said Bernstein Research analyst Craig Moffett today. And he went as far as to wonder if the satellite provider is "the next Sprint." You know things are bad when people start calling you the next Sprint.

  Moffett's in a lather because of the company's Q1 performance. (10-Q is here). Revenue and profit were fine, matching or beating what analysts were looking for. But the subscriber numbers tell a different story. DISH added only 35,000 net new subscribers, compared with 310,000 a year earlier. Customer turnover grew to 1.68% from 1.46%. DISH blamed "worsening economic conditions," including a slowdown in new housing and an increase in customers who can't pay their bills. The company also said the competition is getting pretty intense.   Read More...

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• If Sirius has to be sold, who will buy?

  Posted Apr 03 2008, 11:45 AM by Douglas McIntyre
  Filed under: Apple, Comcast, Ford, DirecTV, Verizon, Sirius, XM Satellite Radio, AT&T, Time Warner Cable, Toyota, GM, Clear Channel, Dish Network
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  When the Justice Department cleared the merger of Sirius with XM Satellite there was anticipation that once the deal got done the shares of both companies would go up. A year ago, the combination was viewed as a dream deal.

  If anything, the shares have dropped. Sirius is below $3 and XM is below $13. The market began to realize that the year wasted on getting government approval was a year the companies need to stay competitive. XM has over $1 billion in debt. Refinancing it in the current market would be nearly impossible. Selling shares would lead to extremely large dilution.  As we recently noted, Goldman Sachs even put Sirius on its "Conviction Sell List" with a price target of $2.25.

  Growth at Sirius has slowed considerably. In the fourth quarter revenue rose only 29% to $250 million. But, for the full year, revenue was up 45%. Subscriber deactivations in the fourth quarter were almost 540,000 compared to 330,000 in the same quarter of 2006. The firm's net loss was $166 million. Long-term debt was almost $1.3 billion.   Read More...

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