Dish DBS files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, as EchoStar restructures debt

EchoStar's satellite pay-TV unit Dish DBS has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, reports Reuters. The move also applies to its wireless subsidiaries, according to the article, and "facilitates the wind-down of Dish Wireless's 5G network operations following an unexpected delay in a spectrum license sale to AT&T... under which EchoStar agreed to sell about 50 megahertz of its nationwide spectrum for $23 billion." Some context from Deadline.com: Charlie Ergen, who co-founded EchoStar and Dish, recently returned as chairman and CEO to steer the company through its recent challenges... Even prior to the merger, Ergen had been working to pivot from the pay-TV business, where Dish now has just 5 million subscribers and streaming sibling Sling TV has another 2 million, toward wireless telecom. With wireless spectrum hitting the market due to the Sprint-T-Mobile merger and then Elon Musk's Starlink looking to ramp up in the sector, it seemed more attractive than the cord-cutting-ravaged pay-TV business. But it is still entails plenty of risk, especially given how tightly regulated the spectrum is due to security concerns. Thanks to long-time Slashdot reader schwit1 for sharing the news. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Dish DBS, the longtime satellite TV operator that is now a subsidiary of EchoStar, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company took the step Tuesday in federal bankruptcy court in Houston, TX, after its debts mounted and it faced a thicket of litigation. A press release accompanying the court filing said it was […]

The chapter 11 filing could come as soon as Tuesday, as EchoStar looks to restructure nearly $10 billion in Dish DBS debt