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Satellite TV Provider Dish Of Englewood Says It Lost Subscribers In 1Q

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) - Satellite television provider Dish Network said Monday that it continued losing subscribers in the first quarter, though its net income doubled.

Dish said it had 13.8 million subscribers as of March 31. That's down from 14 million on Dec. 31 and 14.1 million at the end of the first quarter of 2014. Dish also said it gained fewer net new subscribers than it did a year ago. Its broadband subscribers increased, but that's a much smaller business for Dish.

The Englewood, Colorado-based company said its net income rose to $351.5 million, or 76 cents per share. Its revenue grew 4 percent to $3.72 billion.

Analysts expected a profit of 41 cents per share and $3.72 billion in revenue, according to Zacks Investment Research.

In early February the company launched Sling TV, which costs $20 a month and lets users stream channels online without satellite service from Dish or any other subscription. The business is intended to attract the growing number of households who only pay for Internet service and not cable. Sling subscribers aren't counted in the company's overall pay-TV subscriber totals.

Shares of Dish Network Corp. fell 65 cents to $66.21 in midday trading. The stock is down about 8 percent in 2015 but has risen 10 percent over the last 12 months.

Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on DISH at http://www.zacks.com/ap/DISH

(© Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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