DISH 3Q: Sub Loss, AT&T Impact, Drop in Net Income
Given the 10,000 net customer loss recorded by DISH Network in the third quarter, those running the DBS platform said there's still a lot of work to do - and a lot to think about - in the coming months.

The subscriber loss, the second straight quarterly customer decline for the company, took DISH's customer count to 13.78 million. Also, the company said net income totaled $92 million in the third quarter, compared to $200 million for the corresponding period in 2007. The $108 million decline in net earnings was primarily related to impairments on marketable and non-marketable securities, the company said.

DISH CEO Charlie Ergen said the company faces a "fair amount of investment" to get installation and customer service functions up to speed. And the company has an eye on strengthening its operating metrics.

HD and DVR customers are still good bets. Yet, when considering any pushes for new customers, "You have to be willing to tread a little bit of water, based on the marketplace that's out there," Ergen said. "You have to be prudent in terms of where to spend money."

Other notes from DISH's third quarter results were references to the company's sales and marketing relationship with AT&T, a deal that's set to expire in January.

In a regulatory filing, DISH said AT&T has been a "substantial contributor" to gross and net subscriber additions, accounting for about 17 percent of gross subscriber additions during the first nine months of the year.

DISH said about 1 million of its current subscribers were acquired through the relationship with AT&T, and those subscribers have historically churned at a higher rate than the overall subscriber base. That could be challenging for DISH, given that the higher churn customers will likely stay with the DBS service after the AT&T split.

Also, Ergen touted the company's Turbo HD endeavor, saying the package "got us back into the HD game."

In addition, DISH said in the regulatory filing it repurchased 3.1 million shares of stock for $82 million during the third quarter. The company's board has authorized a plan to repurchase up to $1 billion of outstanding shares through December 2009.

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