Dish quarterly profit misses on pay-TV subscriber losses

[May 03, 2019]  (Reuters) - Dish Network Corp fell short of estimates for quarterly profit on Friday, as the U.S. satellite TV service provider lost higher-than-expected pay-TV subscribers.

The company said its pay-TV business, which includes both satellite TV and streaming service Sling TV, lost a net 259,000 subscribers during the first quarter, more than 94,000 subscribers it lost a year earlier.

Analysts on average had expected Dish to lose 242,000 subscribers, according to research firm FactSet.

Dish's pay-TV business has been struggling in the wake of growing consumer preference for online streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon.com's Prime Video.

Net income attributable to the company fell to $340 million, or 65 cents per share, in the first quarter ended March 31, from $368 million, or 70 cents per share, a year earlier.

Analysts on average had expected the company to report a profit of 66 cents per share, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

Revenue fell about 8 percent to $3.19 billion, in line with estimates.

(Reporting by Akanksha Rana in Bengaluru; Editing by James Emmanuel)

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