The Dish Network News Blog

From the SKYREPORT visit: www.skyreport.com

Next week EchoStar will unleash new external hard drives that enable DISH Network subscribers to store more high-definition content than ever before. With the advent of new USB hard drives, the company is downloading software upgrades do its ViP 622 HD DVR that will enable the USB connection.

According to reports, the move is coming Wednesday, Aug. 15.

DISH Network said without the external hard drive, its ViP 622 box can house up to 35 hours of HD content. With the added storage, EchoStar said that number skyrockets upwards.

TVPredictions.com reported the USB hard drives must be purchased separately, but with the ViP 622 and a new ViP 722 model, the upgrade will be free to new subscribers. USB hard drives can be purchased for less than $200, and DISH’s HD DVRs are compatible with USB external drives up to 750 GB, the site said.

EchoStar charges existing customers up to $199 to lease the ViP 622 and $349 for the ViP 722. The company said the 722, without the external hard drive, can hold up to 55 hours of HD programming. EchoStar also charges DISH subs a one-time fee of $39.99 to enable the USB add-on service.

From the SKYREPORT visit: www.skyreport.com  

EchoStar detailed its second quarter performance in a filing the company made with the Securities and Exchange Commission late Thursday, including a jump in subscribers that didn’t quite match last year’s 2Q efforts.

The company said its DISH Network service added about 170,000 net new subscribers during the three-month period, taking its total to 13.585 million. That compares to about 195,000 net additions for the same period last year.

EchoStar attributed the lower net subscriber gain to a number of factors, one of them being seasonality. Typically, subscribers churn at a higher rate during the second and third quarters each year than during the first and fourth quarters, the company said.

As for financials, EchoStar said second quarter net income grew to $224.2 million, compared to $168.8 million for the same period last year. Revenues jumped 12 percent to $2.8 million.

More details about EchoStar’s second quarter results should come out today during an investor conference call between executives and analysts.