DISH

Specialties

Widely considered the industry leader in technology, DISH’s award-​winning innovations include: Hopper with Sling Whole-​Home HD DVR that gives customers the ability 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.

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.

History

Established in 1980.

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

Summed up as a bad day in the infancy of DISH Network, the founders overcame this setback to build what is now a Fortune 250 company that employs thousands and serves millions throughout the nation — a seemingly unlikely future on that blustery day.

Fast forward to 1995, when DISH launched its first satellite into orbit. Several months later, DISH made its first broadcast to customers, using small dish antennas and state-​of-​the-​art technology designed and built in-​house.

Since then, DISH has consistently introduced increasingly sophisticated products, such as the Award-​Winning Hopper DVR, while offering the best value in the satellite tv industry.