OUR MISSION.

To be the very best at delivering video anywhere, anytime.

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QUICK FACTS.

  • Provides satellite TV to approximately 14 million subscribers
  • Offers the best programming at the best value
  • Leads the pay-TV industry in state-of-the-art equipment and technology
  • Provides the most HD and international programming in the U.S.
  • Revenues surpassed $14 billion in 2011
  • Publicly traded on the NASDAQ Exchange, ticker symbol DISH
  • Employs more than 25,000 people in the U.S.
  • Headquartered in Englewood, Colo.
  • Purchased Blockbuster L.L.C. in 2011

Leadership.

Our leadership team is comprised of industry veterans who know a thing or two about pay-TV. Learn More

Milestones.

From startup to Fortune 200 pay-TV giant, we’ve come a long way since 1980.
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Awards.

We've received numerous awards for delivering unparalleled customer service and technology. Learn More

DISH STORY.

Ditches.

Three people – Charlie Ergen, Candy Ergen and Jim DeFranco – were hauling an enormous C-band TV dish antenna via pickup truck to a customer in remote Colorado. In the early 1980s this was one of only two dish antennas owned by the developing new business. A powerful gust of wind whipped up, blowing the antenna off its trailer and into a roadside ditch. There goes half of the company.

Summed up as a bad day in the infancy of DISH, the founding trio overcame this setback to build what is now a Fortune 200 company that employs thousands and serves millions throughout the nation – a seemingly unlikely future on that blustery day.

Liftoff.

Fast forward to 1995, when Ergen set his sights on launching his first satellite from China, then a novice in the satellite industry. Staking the future of young DISH on one, multimillion dollar satellite, Ergen gambled with the odds of a favorable launch. After watching a Chinese rocket promptly crash and burn, he witnessed the nerve-wracking, but ultimately successful deployment of Echo I.

Several months later, DISH made its first broadcast to customers from its uplink center in Cheyenne, Wyo., using small dish antennas and state-of-the-art technology designed and built in-house.

Innovation.

Today, it appears that the real story of DISH centers on Ergen’s visionary courage to reinvent television distribution. Widely considered the industry leader in technology, DISH’s award-winning innovations include: Hopper with Sling® Whole-Home HD DVR that allows customers to watch live and recorded TV programming from smartphones, tablets and computers; and the Tailgater®, a lightweight, portable satellite dish ideal for watching TV while tailgating, camping, in the RV or at outdoor activities.

Commitment.

Even as DISH consistently introduces products of increasing sophistication, it also leads the industry by offering the best value – the same channels at a better price. Challenging the economics of pay-TV, Ergen has charged competitors with passing the burden of wasteful spending to subscribers, and he maintains the mantra that DISH will always offer customers the lowest everyday pricing nationwide.