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Charlie Ergen returns as the satellite industry faces a turning point

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PwrSurge:
Just when we thought we'd seen the last of him, Charlie Ergen returns as Dish Network CEO!


--- Quote ---Charlie Ergen, a founder of Dish Network, is taking back the reins at the satellite provider as its competitive landscape is poised for big changes, with a series of megadeals and shifts in how people watch television.

Dish said on Monday that Joe Clayton, its chief executive, would retire at the end of March after a 42-year career in consumer electronics. Mr. Ergen, who helped found the company more than three decades ago and holds the chairman title, will return to his post as chief executive.

Mr. Clayton is the latest in a string of top executives who have failed to stay long at Dish. Carl Vogel was president from 2006 to 2008, and before that Michael Neuman was a top executive at the satellite company EchoStar, which operated Dish.

“There has just been a revolving door in and out,” said Craig Moffett, an analyst with MoffettNathanson Research. “It is nothing more than a reflection of how difficult it has been for outsiders to work productively with Charlie Ergen. At the end of the day, this is still Charlie Ergen’s company.” Photo      Charlie Ergen, who helped found Dish Network more than three decades ago, will return to his post as chief executive.  Credit Andrew Kelly/Reuters           

Mr. Ergen, who also is chairman of EchoStar, stepped down from his chief executive role at Dish in June 2011 to focus on long-term business strategy. At that time, Mr. Clayton became chief and steered the company through the start of its controversial Hopper service, which allows for automatic commercial skipping, as well as its Sling TV product, which offers streaming television for $20 a month.

The company also recently spent billions of dollars to acquire wireless airwaves, known as spectrum, in two auctions.

“Over the last four years, Joe’s leadership has been instrumental to Dish as we have worked to engineer a fundamental transformation of our business,” Mr. Ergen said in a statement. “He has set the stage for what will become a new company, and with that he has prepared a new class of management to address the adventures coming our way.”

Mr. Ergen is assuming control of the company as its rivals await regulatory approval of two deals that would reshape the country’s television and broadband markets. In July, Dish urged regulators to block the proposed $45 billion merger of Comcast and Time Warner Cable and said that a proposed $48.5 billion deal between AT&T and DirecTV also posed competitive threats.

Dish is also combating a rising tide of so-called cord cutters, who are abandoning paying for traditional TV services in favor of cheaper streaming alternatives.

The news came as Dish Network reported that net income for 2014 increased 17 percent, to $945 million, compared with the previous year, with total revenue up 5.3 percent. The company’s subscriber base has not grown since 2009. It lost 79,000 pay-television subscribers in 2014.

Amy Yong, an analyst with Macquarie, said Mr. Clayton had helped move Dish’s business along with the start of new products and efforts to reinvigorate the brand. “Now that Charlie Ergen is back and they are largely done with spectrum purchases, I think he gets to view the business more holistically,” she said.

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mairj23:
For some reason Dish Network is always losing employees. They tend to make  too many unnecessary changes though and the prices keeps going up. I hear this new Sling TV by Dish is going to change the game as you can get 20 popular channels for about $20.

JohnBeaulieu:
Dish is going to have to treat it's employees better. They are going to have to improve their choices on channel selection. They also need to be more clear about the rates and packages.

tiffaninichole:
From all of the changes and price increases they've been doing, Dish really seems like an unstable company. And I don't want to put my money behind any company that isn't stable, let alone a cable company. I don't think I've ever heard anything positive about Dish from any of the people I know who subscribe to it. Their prices aren't competitive and their offerings are less than stellar.

Looker:
Dish was voted the 8th worst company to work for in the USA.

http://247wallst.com/special-report/2015/06/29/the-worst-companies-to-work-for/3/

8. DISH Network (NASDAQ: DISH)
> Rating: 2.6
> Number of reviews: 2,200
> CEO approval rating: 30%
> Employees: 19,000
> Industry: Cable Service Providers

Network service providers do not have the best of reputations for their service, and at least one — DISH Network — does not appear to be treating its employees much better than it treats its customers. Of the roughly 2,200 reviews by former and current employees posted on Glassdoor, DISH Network scored an average of 2.6 out of 5, making it one of the worst reviewed large companies in the United States. One of the most common complaints was that upper management was out of touch with the technicians and customer service representatives. Multiple employees reported that the central dispatch would prescribe routes that were unrealistic. Employees also complained about being forced to wear heavy black uniforms in the summertime.
DISH’s overall rating may improve soon as the company is in talks to potentially merge with mobile service provider T-Mobile, which scored an average of 3.8, making it one of the best reviewed large companies on Glassdoor.

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