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Satellite operator DISH Network reported Q1 revenue of $2.84 billion, a 7.5 percent increase from $2.64 billion in the year-ago quarter. Net income was up 64 percent to $258 million ($.57 per share) from $157 million ($.35 per share). While the numbers are going up, subscriber growth is slowing considerably: "Slower subscriber growth rates continued in the first quarter of 2008, during which we added 35,000 net new DISH Network subscribers. This rate of growth was substantially lower than we have historically experienced on a quarterly basis...." The reasons: "We believe that this declining subscriber growth has been driven in part by competitive factors including the expansion of fiber-based pay TV providers, the effectiveness of certain competitors' promotional offers, the number of markets in which competitors offer local HD channels, and their aggressive marketing of these differences." The company also cited satellite launch issues affecting HD capacity. Some other metrics:

-- ARPU was up 5.9 percent to $67.93.
-- SAC was up 6.9 percent to $709
-- Churn grew to 1.68 percent from 1.46 percent. Going forward: "We believe our subscriber churn rate has been and is likely to continue to be negatively impacted by a number of factors, including, but not limited to, the factors described above impacting subscriber additions, an increase in non-pay disconnects primarily resulting from adverse economic conditions and continuing effects of customer commitment expirations."

Filing | Call at 12:00 PM ET

As it waits and waits for approval to merge with Sirius (NSDQ: SIRI), XM (NSDQ: XMSR) reported Q1 revenue of $308 million, a 17 percent increase from $264 million in the year-ago quarter. Another thing that XM shareholders are waiting a long time for: profitability. Net loss widened in the quarter to $129 million ($.42 per share) from $122 million ($.40 per share). On an adjusted basis, excluding depreciation, amortization, interest and other stuff, losses grew to $30.7 million from $27 million. Both the top and bottom line numbers were a bit worse than what analysts had been looking for. Some highlights:

-- At quarter's end, XM had 9.33 million subscribers, an 18 percent increase form the year-ago quarter.
-- Churn of 1.77 percent was a sliver better than 1.78 percent a year ago.
-- Arpu dipped to $10.04 from $10.15.
-- SAC grew to $73 from $65.

Release | Webcast (10:00 AM ET)

Related

• Once Again: XM And Sirius Extend Deal Deadline Two More Weeks While Waiting On FCC
• Updated: DOJ Clears XM-Sirius; Waiting On FCC; 'Not Likely To Harm Consumers'; NAB 'Astonished'

As it concludes week 53 of waiting for Department of Justice approval of its merger with rival satellite radio provider Sirius (NSDQ: SIRI), XM Satellite Radio (NSDQ: XMSR) said its Q4 net loss narrowed by $18 million over the prior year to $239 million compared to last year's $257 million. For the full year, the company's net loss was reduced by $37 million, coming in with a $682 million loss versus 2006's $719 million. As for its revenues, XM gained 20 percent, coming in at $308 million in comparison to Q406's $257 million total revenue reported in fourth quarter of 2006. XM's full year 2007 total revenue was $1.1 billion, an increase of 22 percent over 2006's $933 million.

-- XM added 1.4 million net new subscribers by the end of 2007, giving it more than 9 million subscribers, an 18 percent increase over the 2006.

-- Q4 ad sales climbed 33 percent to $820 million from $615 million, year-over-year.

-- Not much was mentioned of the status of XM's pending merger with Sirius, as the release contained only a bland statement from Nate Davis, the company president and CEO, again touting the general benefits to consumers and saying the regulatory nod is expected in the near future.

Earnings release | Webcast (10:00 AM EDT)

With the clock still ticking on the regulatory front, satellite radio operator Sirius (NSDQ: SIRI) has reported Q4 revenue of $249.8 million, a 29.2 percent increase from $193.4 million in the year-ago period. Net loss narrowed to $166.2 million ($.11 per share) from $245.6 million ($.17 per share). The company says it ended the year with 8.32 million customers, 38 percent more than the 6.02 million it had at the end of 2006. Most of the growth came from an 87 percent increase in OEM subscribers (pre-installed in cars). The higher level of OEM subscribers allowed the company to reduce subscriber acquisition costs (SAC) by 17.4 percent to $99.9 million.

Release | Webcast (8:00 AM ET)

Details are emerging on EchoStar's (NSDQ: DISH) proposed spinoff of its technology and infrastructure business, including the recently acquired Sling Media, whose financials are available for the first time. From an SEC filing late last week including information on the new EchoStar Holding Corporation:

-- Sling Media: In 2006, Sling's revenue was $29 million, nearly triple its 2005 mark of $10.9 million. Net losses in the period also expanded significantly to $20.9 million from $3.6 million, as costs increased in all areas. Through the first half of the year, the company has revenue of $14.7 million, up 80 percent from last year's $8.2 million, while year-to-date net losses total $16.9 million. The second half of the year includes the holidays and is clearly the company's bigger period. As of June 30th, Sling Media had $10.8 million cash in the bank and total stockholders equity of $21.5 million.

-- Operations: The spinoff would consist of EchoStar's digital set-top box business, fixed satellite services and Sling Media, which was recently acquired for $380 million. The company believes it can market its set-top box technology to third party video operators, which previously avoided deals with a competitor. While EchoStar will continue to be its primary customers of satellite services, the company says it will have excess capacity that can be used for digital video distribution, data, corporate communications, and government services. In total, business from EchoStar represents 80 percent of the company's revenue, with much of the rest coming from Bell Canada's ExpressVu service.

-- Group financial data: For the year 2006, the group that would make up the spinoff had revenue of $1.52 billion, up slightly from $1.51 million in 2005. Net losses for the year narrowed to $34.1 million from $44.9 million. For the first six months of the year, revenue was $778 million, up 3 percent from last year's $755 million. Including certain pro-forma adjustments, the company did 2006 revenue of $2.08 billion with net income of $176.8 million. The pro-forma numbers may make for a more meaningful baseline going forward, since they factor in a profit margin on sales that an independent EHC would have charged its parent company. Also included are certain assets that will be contributed to the new company, as well as Sling Media's numbers.

-- Risks: Two obvious risks stand out for the spinoff. the ongoing legal dispute with Tivo, which has accused the company of patent infringement and the lack thus far of confirmation from the IRS that the spin-off will be tax free.

Also, late on Friday after the bell, the company released its Q3 earnings figures. Revenue for the quarter hit $2.79 billion, up 13 percent from last year's $2.47 billion. Net income rose 43 percent to $199.7 million from $139.6 million, helped by improved operating leverage. But the stock is down 11 percent today, as the report and the accompanying 10-Q filing contained some red flags:

-- Gross adds of 904,000 came in below last year's 958,000, which the company attributed to adverse adverse conditions associated with the weak housing market.

-- Churn increased to 1.94 percent from 1.76 percent, owing to increased competition and a greater number of disconnects due to non-payment. Looking forward, the company warned that it may need to up its spending considerably in order to reverse this trend. The higher churn rate contributed to a 62.7 percent fall in net adds to 110,000 from 295,000.

Earnings release

Conference Call: CEO Charlie Ergen described the company's increased churn rate as "unacceptable", indicating that the company has done a better job in the past of installation and responding to customer requests. Ergen also sees the economy as currently or soon to be in a recession, according to the WSJ, echoing of the company's filing. One option for the company is to diversify internationally: "If there are opportunities internationally, we would certainly look at them."

Related

• Sling Media To Be Acquired By EchoStar; Deal Valued At Approximately $380 Million; Spinoff Possible?
• Sling-DISH: EchoStar Explores Spin-off Into Two Public Companies

XM Satellite Radio (NSDQ: XMSR) announced Q3 revenue growth of 20 percent, rising to $287 million from $240 million. Gains were fueled by net subscriber adds of 315,000, up from 286,000 last year, for a total customer base of 8.57 million. But net losses expanded 72.6 percent to $145 million from $84 million, as the company saw higher royalty expenses, retention costs and an increased marketing budget. Altogether, the company's cost per gross addition (CPGA) rose to $116, from $94 a year ago. Other highlights:

-- 700,000 of 952,000 gross adds came from automotive pre-installations.

-- Net advertising sales hit $10.7 million, up from $8.8 million last year.

Release | Webcast | Transcript

Sirius Satellite Radio (Nasdaq: SIRI) narrowed its net loss in Q2 by 44 percent to $134.1 million, or $0.09 per share, from $237.8 million, or $0.17 per share, last year. Total revenue was up 51 percent to $226.4 million from $150.1 million in Q206. The better results were explained by Mel Karmazin, CEO of Sirius, as evidence of greater momentum for the radio service as it awaits regulatory approval for its proposed merger with XM Satellite Radio (Nasdaq: XMSR). Last week, XM said it reduced its net losses and raised its revenues in Q2 as well. Sirius also noted in its Q2 results:

-- Sirius ended Q2 with 7.1 million subscribers, 53 percent higher than last year, when it finished the quarter with 4.6 million subs. Subscriber acquisition costs (SAC) declined by $3 million, or 2.8 percent, to $105.7 million.

-- Ad revenue was $9.2 million in the second quarter of 2007 and average monthly revenue per subscriber (ARPU) was $10.71.

-- Sirius captured 62 percent of satellite radio segment share, claiming that this was the seventh consecutive quarter it led in adding subs.

-- New programming agreements resulted in increased content expenses about $8.2 million for a total of $53.1 million in Q2 from $44.9 million last year.

-- For the first half of the year, Sirius reported total revenue of $430.5 million compared with $276.7 million for H106, an increase of 56 percent. 
Earnings release | Webcast

As the company continues to wait for federal approval of its pending merger with rival Sirius Satellite Radio, XM Satellite Radio (Nasdaq: XMSR) narrowed its net loss to $176 million, a 23 percent improvement over last year's net loss of $229 million. Revenues, meanwhile, increased 21.5 percent to $277 million in Q2 compared to $228 million the year before. Earlier this week, Hugh Panero, who's headed the company for a decade, said he will step down as XM's CEO. He said in a statement that he's confident the Sirius merger will meet the necessary standards set by the Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Justice, allowing the combination to go through by the end of this year. Other Q2 highlights from its earnings report included:

-- Subscriber acquisition costs were $75, versus $67 in Q206. XM recorded gross subscriber additions of 942,000. It also posted net subscriber additions of 338,000 compared to 926,000 gross additions and 398,000 net subscriber additions in the 2006 second quarter.

-- By the end of Q2, XM had $275 million in cash compared to $218 million at the end of last year.  Earnings release | Webcast

While the company’s joint venture with NBC Universal is still a ways off from launching, News Corp. (NYSE: NWS) had some tangible benefits to make note of for Q1, as profits climbed 6.2 percent as the earnings came in at $871 million compared to $820 million in the same period a year ago. Revenue rose 21.5 percent to $7.5 billion from $6.2 billion in the same period a year ago. The company, which is now looking to add Dow Jones to its stable of media properties, saw its biggest boost from its entertainment segment, which the company said accounted for 23 percent of earnings and 21 percent of revenue growth. Film and TV production reported profits increased 82 percent to $410 million from $225 million. Still, TV earnings dropped 4.5 percent amid losses from the first year of MyNetworkTV, which was reformed from the ashes of the shuttered UPN network. The company did not break out revenues for its Fox Interactive Media segment, which includes MySpace, though a pre-conference call statement did make note of the online video project with NBCU as well as the content partnership between VeriSign’s Jamba and Fox Mobile Entertainment. Other highlights: More after the jump…

-- Newspaper operating income was $156 million, a modest increase from $153 million reported the previous year, while operating income from magazines was $102 million, an improvement of 13 percent over last year’s $90 million.

-- Cable network programming earnings rose 34 percent on higher returns from Fox News Channel, the FX network and regional sports networks.

-- Net earnings from affiliates, including BSkyB and The DirecTV Group, declined to $255 million from last year’s $264 million. More to come. Earnings release (PDF) | Webcast Transcript (SeekingAlpha)

--Update: Fox Interactive Media, which was buried in the “other” segment in News Corp.’s earnings release, had revenues that exceeded $135 million and was up 65 percent year-over-year, largely thanks to display advertising, said Dave DeVoe, News Corp.’s CFO, speaking to participants during the morning conference call. Secondly, revenues from the Google Earth ad alliance produced $50 million in revenue over the past six months, said Peter Chernin, the company’s president and COO.

-- Chernin On MySpace And Google: “I would say that we are in the very early days. And I think what we’re looking at is, trying to work closely with Google about learning the sort of details, about where the best place to put a search inquiry, what the best usage on a page is, or where the best placement of advertising is… They are making the appropriate payments that they are supposed to do. Their first payment was at the beginning of the year. There was a second one at the beginning of the quarter, and yes they have been paying.”

-- Fox Interactive’s Growth:  FIM continues to grow steadily both in traffic and revenue metrics, News Corp. CEO and Chairman Rupert Murdoch added. He said the company’s interactive unit is on pace to match or exceed its previously stated revenue goal of $500 million for the current fiscal year. “[We] have increased our position as the web’s most viewed online network with nearly 50 billion pageviews in the United States and approximately 100 million unique users worldwide each month,” he said. Murdoch also referred to the purchase of Strategic Data Corporation, which he said will allow Fox Interactive to increase revenues through its targeted advertising across the whole network.

-- Alliances: Chernin touched on plans for the NBCU video venture and this week’s news about its distribution partnership with Cnet. (See Rafat’s report on Murdoch’s and Chernin’s comments regarding the company’s $5 billion unsolicited bid for Dow Jones here) On the NBCU JV and Cnet distribution partnership, expect more content alliances to come soon: ”We are in ongoing talks with various other content partners, but mostly right now, we are really focused on getting this thing up and running, which we would hope to get up and running in our end of summer, beginning of fall. We obviously need to come up with the name pretty quickly. We are in a pretty intensive CEO search right now. But we feel pretty good about both our operating progress in the short-term, but more importantly the response that this has gotten from web distributors, content creators, all of whom I think are looking for a legitimate opportunity to distribute copyright protected content, and a business model that is both good for advertisers and also very convenient for consumers.”

-- Acquisitions: Most of the purchases News Corp. has embarked on recently have been intended to support FIM. Murdoch: “And that it will be ever, I am sure, of small ones than bigger ones. Some have been extremely small ones, like $5 million, some a bit more. That is all the strength in FIM.”