Dish DBS files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Dish DBS, a longtime satellite television operator that is now a subsidiary of EchoStar, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Tuesday.

The company filed for bankruptcy in a Houston federal court, according to a news release. The move was made after a deal to sell spectrum to AT&T was delayed, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The release stated that a prepackaged plan was backed by 88% of its creditors holding Dish DBS bonds.

The Wall Street Journal was the first news outlet to report the filing.

EchoStar, which also owns Dish TV and Boost Mobile, had incurred $25 billion in debt and years of subscriber losses, according to the newspaper. EchoStar merged with Dish in 2024, Deadline reported.

Operations for Dish TV and Sling TV will continue without interruption, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Under the plan, Dish will reorganize the business and pay down debt once the $20.25 billion of proceed from the AT&T sale are received. Dish had roughly $2 billion of 7.75% senior secured bonds due on Wednesday.

“As a result of the delayed closing of the AT&T transaction, DISH DBS does not currently have sufficient liquidity to repay the July 1 notes while continuing to pay its ordinary course obligations,” the Englewood, Colorado, company said in its release. “All amounts owed under the July 1 notes will be paid in full in cash as promptly as possible after closing of the AT&T transaction or on the effective date of the plan.”

A $2.4 billion escrow fund required by the Federal Communications Commission will remain in place to handle network decommissioning claims, according to The Wall Street Journal.

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