One of the biggest pay-TV companies in the US, DISH Network has been dealing with a declining customer base for some years. Thus, the issue of whether this pattern is maintained or if DISH has stopped the fall emerges.
A Difficult Pay-TV Market
Apart from the overall drop in pay-TV memberships in the past, this has had an impact on the pay-TV sector since cable and satellite TV providers lose more and more members who would rather view their preferred TV series online on streaming platforms like Netflix and Hulu among others. Not spared are some of the most well-known names in the business; AT&T's subsidiaries, DirecTV, and Dish have suffered among others.
Pay-TV companies revealed last year that over a million of their customers are the worst scenario seen in the history of the sector. It modestly rose in 2017 while the cord-cutting phenomena were still underway—50,000, precisely. With minor variances in some of the figures, 2018 almost exactly matched last year. More than 6 million individuals cut the cord in 2019, leaving behind established pay-TV companies as the streaming services fight got more intense.
DISH's Subscriber Losses
Almost every quarter DISH Network has seen a drop in its membership over the past few years. Losing over half a million clients in 2016, it's important to know how this could influence the company's future reputation. 2017 was thus considerably worse, as the business lost about a million members. The hemorrhage persisted during the fiscal years of April 30, 2018, and April 30, 2019.
Some of the factors contributing to the problems at DISH are high rivalry from the streaming services, low customer satisfaction score, charge issues and scandals, and half-baked deployment of its direct-broadcast satellite TV streaming service Sling TV as a hedge against cord-cutting. Overall, many customers have shifted their allegiance to alternative services such as Hulu + Live, YouTube TV, and others that provide better value.
Recent trends indicate some improvement. The two studies discussed above can help illustrate these recent trends better.
The loss of customers in the year 2020 did not spare DISH as the pandemic and other conditions affected the company’s progress, although, the trend might be reversing.
Despite the pandemic, in the first quarter of 2021, DISH shed a relatively small number of pay-tv subscribers, about 20,000, which is the first increase in years. This was because the company was gaining new satellite TV customers for its Sling TV live-streaming service more quickly than the number of customers migrating away from the DISH satellite system.
However, in the following three quarters, DISH returned to a loss of satellite subscribers, while the Sling service continued to gain users. For example, in the third quarter of 2021 they added 214,000 Sling subscribers while losing 67,000 satellite TV – but still a net gain.
This trend shows that DISH’s streaming attempts are beginning to generate some results while its legacy satellite video business shrinks. Moving forward, DISH’s whole connectivity bundle of services alongside its TV services may become more enticing as it continues to fully integrate its Boost Mobile acquisition from 2020 and introduce 5G services.
Challenges Remain
Despite the recent positive changes, there is still the question of challenges that DISH has to overcome. It also lacks customer services and value proposition in TV and wireless service against other competitors like AT&T and Comcast Xfinity.
This is why until DISH offers a fully integrated cohesive, competitive package of TV, streaming, and wireless services over a 5G network, it may not achieve significant net subscriber additions. But if the smart TVs and 5G home internet are to increase their usage as more cord-cutting options, then again, the rate of subscriber losses could surge.
Therefore, although DISH Network was able to halt the loss of subscribers in early 2021 from their growth in streaming penetration –which is positive- the company remains vulnerable to further losses. Only the future will tell whether DISH can achieve a successful long-term strategy on how to deal with the pay-TV industry. However, if the company employs 5G and the right bundled service approach, there is a way for DISH to eventually grow steadily and lucratively cater to its selected market.
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