DISH Network Corporation: 4Q 2017 earnings snapshot

Direct-broadcast satellite service provider DISH Network today reported a revenue decline of 7.2% for its fourth quarter to $3.48 billion. Earnings were hurt by a fall in subscriber-related revenue, which was driven by continuing decline in its DISH TV subscriber base.

However, the company’s earnings jumped to $1.39 billion from $355 million a year ago, thanks to the tax benefit from the recent Republican tax reform.

Its Sling TV witnessed a 47.3% surge in subscribers to 2.21 million from the end of 2016.  This is the first time the satellite operator is disclosing the figures for Sling TV.

The company disclosed that it added around 700,000 Sling customers over the 2017 period, while lost around 1.1 million subscribers in its traditional satellite TV arm over the same period, declining overall by 429,000 or 3.1% for 2017.