This is Erik Carlson, the new CEO of DISH. Charlie Ergen, the driving force behind the company, will stay on as Chairman, but is giving up the post of CEO, according to the press release, “to focus on wireless opportunities.”
DISH has been poking around the world of wireless for years now. It’s no secret that they’re interested in some sort of wireless presence, but it’s never quite come together for them. There was an ill-fated attempt to buy Sprint, and over the years they have bid on — and won — hundreds of millions of dollars worth of wireless licenses. Now, finally, the company may be doing something with all of their assets.
It’s pretty obvious when you look at the future that cord-cutting will continue and that the traditional pay-TV model is very mature. It’s been a long, long time since the company’s had a quarter with subscriber growth, and any profits they’ve realized have been through careful management, not through growing the company. DISH’s pay-TV footprint is now about half of that of AT&T, its natural competitor, and while the company continues to innovate in the satellite TV space it’s not likely they’ll ever grow to AT&T’s size.
Wireless services could be a big thing for DISH. It’s not clear how all their wireless holdings will play into this move, but letting Mr. Ergen focus on the wireless business means that we’ll truly find some innovative things coming from the company, that’s for sure.
There are some other title swaps within upper management, and that’s all detailed here.
