Dish Network Q2 profit falls on climbing costs

Dish Network Corp said Monday that its second- quarter profit slid 81
percent on TiVo Inc litigation costs and rising expenses, but the nation's
second-largest satellite TV provider managed to add subscribers and maintain
revenue. The Englewood, Colo.-based company earned $63.4 million, or 14
cents per share, for the period ended June 30. That's down from $335.9
million, or 73 cents per share, last year. Analysts polled by Thomson
Reuters, whose estimates typically exclude one-time items, forecast profit
of 67 cents per share. Revenue was nearly flat at $2.90 billion, with
prior-year revenue coming in at $2.91 billion. Analysts expected revenue
would not stray far from year-ago results, predicting $2.91 billion for the
current quarter. Total costs and expenses rose to $2.64 billion, which
included a TiVo litigation expense of $196. 4 million. In a worst-case
scenario, Dish's court battle with TiVo could force Dish to yank its digital
video recorders over patent claims. Subscriber acquisition costs increased
to $388.3 million from $371.4 million, while general and administrative
expenses grew to $143.5 million from $122.3 million.