EchoStar prepares Dish DBS bankruptcy filing
Key takeaways
- Backing the filing is a restructuring agreement Echo Star reached earlier this year that has the support of bondholders holding more than 82% of Dish DBS's roughly $10 billion in outstanding debt.
- EchoStar, based in Englewood, Colorado, carries roughly $25 billion in total debt and has faced years of subscriber losses across its pay TV businesses.
- The bankruptcy filing follows EchoStar's failed attempt to merge Dish Network with DIRECTV in 2024.
Echo Star prepares Dish DBS bankruptcy filing Echo Star prepares Dish DBS bankruptcy filing · Quartz · Credit: Cody Logan / DISH 1000+ / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) Cris Tolomia Tue, June 30, 2026 at 8:15 PM GMT+7 2 min read FCN Echo Star is preparing to file its Dish DBS satellite TV unit for chapter 11 bankruptcy as soon as Tuesday, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Backing the filing is a restructuring agreement Echo Star reached earlier this year that has the support of bondholders holding more than 82% of Dish DBS's roughly $10 billion in outstanding debt. According to an EchoStar securities filing, the agreement encompasses a series of transactions aimed at cutting the company's debt load, settling ongoing litigation with bondholders, and broadening EchoStar's options for potential dealmaking. Dish DBS has retained White & Case as legal counsel and FTI Consulting as financial advisor for the restructuring process, The Journal reported.
EchoStar, based in Englewood, Colorado, carries roughly $25 billion in total debt and has faced years of subscriber losses across its pay TV businesses. Pay TV revenue came in at $2.26 billion for the most recent quarter, representing a year-over-year drop of more than $260 million; over the same period, the company shed approximately 177,000 net subscribers.