Dish Network Corporation: A company that aimed to bring TV to rural America
Dish Network is a company that most of us have heard of especially a couple of decades ago when television was the only source of entertainment. Dish Network Corporation is a famous American television provider which is the owner of the direct broadcast satellite, Dish. Every company evolves with time to stay intact in the market and increase its growth. So, apart from a television provider, Dish also provides mobile wireless service. The mobile service is currently prepaid with 9.055 million customers and the company plans to roll out postpaid plans as well.
The founders of the Dish Network Corporation are Jim DeFranco, Charlie Ergen, and Cantey Ergen. Dish Network is currently based in Englewood, Colorado, US. Areas served by the company are the US, North America, and South America. Dish Network has multiple subsidiaries which include Dish Wireless, Boost Mobile, Sling TV, Sling Media, etc. Currently, the company has around 16,000 employees. Let’s have a more detailed look into the history of the company.
Establishment of Dish Network
Dish’s story began with a simple yet powerful idea of making television accessible to every rural American. When the company was founded, it received a ton of criticism and that it was impossible to launch satellites into space. But, the company did it all from launching satellites to connecting millions of Americans to the TV. Dish Network believes that watching television shouldn’t be a mere dream of any American. Their main target was to develop something easily accessible and affordable at the same time. So, Dish Network became the first company in the world to invent a DVR, introducing a 2-Year TV Price Guarantee, developing a voice remote, and launching a remote finder.
Innovations at Dish Network
Dish Network has embarked on an adventure with this company and they always think long-term and innovation when it comes to the consumer. So, when the internet first came into the market Dish started preparing ahead and analyzing its impact on pay-TV. Hence, the company launched Sling TV in 2015 which became the world’s first live TV streaming platform. Since the beginning of the company, Dish has always strived to innovate its core business and thus currently focusing on building a multi-brand wireless telco.
The Company is currently building the nation’s first cloud-native, Open RAN-complaint 5G network to provide the fastest network to the cities. The next target of the company is to provide 5G connectivity, enhance smart homes, and also harness the power of AI to make the lives of common people better.
History of the Company
The history of Dish Network dates back to 1980 when Echostar was founded by Charles Ergen. He founded the company as a distributor of C band TV systems. The company also applied for a direct broadcast satellite (DBS) license and in 1995 successfully launched its first satellite EchoStar I. In 1996, it established the brand name DISH Network for its home satellite TV system. The name of the company was finally made Dish Network Corporation in 2008 when it decided to spin off its technology sector as a whole new company called EchoStar Corporation. Charles Ergen remained a part of the company from the beginning until 2017 when he stepped down and was replaced by Erik Carlson. Charles Ergen was both the Chairman and CEO of the company.
Growth and expansion
Dish Network laid down a very effective strategy when it came to acquisition as it mostly acquired bankrupt companies. In April 2011, the company acquired Blockbuster Inc by paying $322 million in cash and the rest in liabilities. The company also approached Hulu’s owner to buy the company which was not very successful. In 2012, the company again rebranded itself by the name DISH replacing Dish Network. On May 20, 2019, EchoStar, the technology sector which was spun off, announced a deal with DISH to transfer a portion of that company’s business which dealt with managing broadcast satellite services, referred to as the BSS (Broadcast Satellite Services) business to DISH. The deal was successfully completed on September 10, 2019.
The Founders
Charles Ergen is the co-founder of both EchoStar and Dish Network Corporation. Currently, he owns a 48 percent share in Dish and 46 percent in EchoStar. He went to the University of Tennessee followed by Wake Forest University where he completed his MBA. He was awarded the Business Person of the year in 1996 by Rocky Mountain News.
Annasha Dey is an NIT student, who apart from studying engineering is also a content writer. She has a great interest in photography, writing, reading novels, and travelling as well. She is a foodie who loves socializing and hanging out with her friends. She is also a trained Kathak dancer and a big fashion enthusiast. Dey also loves watching TV series, which includes F.R.I.E.N.D.S. and Big Bang Theory. To be a better writer she prefers to read more