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 Dish, the No. 2 U.S. satellite TV provider after DirecTV, had to pay
up $516 million after its affiliates surrendered spectrum licenses
worth $3.3 billion to the government in October.
The U.S Federal Communications Commission plans to re-auction those
licenses after an auction of broadcast airwaves scheduled for early
2016.
Dish and its partners invested in separate companies with little to
no revenue, a comparatively common process in auctions. These
companies are considered "very small businesses" and can receive a
25 percent discount in auction bidding.
In October, Dish said it loaned its two affiliates $413 million for
the penalty from its balance sheet.
Investors have been watching for indications of what Dish Chief
Executive Charlie Ergen plans to do with wireless airwaves or
spectrum that it has spent billions stockpiling over the last few
years.
Barclays analysts speculate that Dish's spectrum could be worth
about $22 billion, more than its $20 billion market capitalization.
As the pay-TV industry tackles a drop in subscriber numbers, Dish
has been trying to lure young viewers to its cheaper $20-per-month
Sling TV online streaming service.
The company exited 2015 with about 13.9 million pay-TV subscribers,
including Sling TV, a decline of 81,000 subscribers, compared to the
end of last year.
The net loss attributable to Dish was $125.3 million, or 27 cents
per share, in the quarter ended Dec. 31, as an impairment charge of
$123 million also weighed.
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Total quarterly revenue rose to $3.78 billion from $3.68 billion,
beating the average analyst estimate of $3.74 billion, according to
Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
For the full year, Dish said revenue rose about 3 percent to $15.07
billion, edging past the estimated $15.02 billion.
However, net income attributable to Dish fell to $747.1 million, or
$1.61 per share, in 2015, from $944.6 million, or $2.04 per share,
in 2014. (http://1.usa.gov/1Lv62ye)
Dish's shares closed at $46.07 on the Nasdaq on Wednesday.
(Reporting by Anya George Tharakan in Bengaluru and Malathi Nayak in
New York; Editing by Don Sebastian and Shounak Dasgupta)
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