Dish DBS files for bankruptcy

The owner of satellite television provider Dish DBS has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as the company works to restructure its debt and resolve ongoing litigation.

Dish DBS, which is owned by EchoStar, submitted its filings to the federal bankruptcy court in Houston, Texas, June 30, 2026. The division controls Dish, Sling TV and Boost Mobile. 

“EchoStar has been at the forefront of telecommunications for over 45 years, and these steps will position the business for an even stronger future,” said chairman and CEO Charlie Ergen in a statement. “We are operating as usual throughout this process, delivering the same high-quality services that our customers expect. I want to thank our team members for their relentless focus and our customers and partners for their continued support.”

The company says it has no plans to cease operations for any of its brands.

The filing includes a prepackaged restructuring plan supported by 88% of Dish bondholders, according to a press release.

EchoStar, which merged with Dish in 2024, has been working through about $25 billion in debt

Ergen, who co-founded EchoStar and Dish, recently returned as chairman and CEO after previously warning that bankruptcy remained a possibility.

Dish, like its fellow MVPDs distributed via satellite signals and cable lines, has been facing a variety of challenges fueled by the general consumer trend of fleeing linear television subscriptions in favor of streaming.

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The company attempted to move into streaming with vMVPD Sling, has failed to make a significant dent in that marker. Sling TV only has around 2 million subscribers. Dish’s numbers, meanwhile, don’t look much better — it has about 5 million on its satellite service, down from a peak of around 14 million in 2009.

Ergen had already been working on efforts to help Dish pivot to wireless telecom. That path, however, has its own share of shifting industry trends and competition. 

The Chapter 11 filing is not expected to affect EchoStar’s brands, customers, operations or employees. The company expects Dish to emerge from the process during the third quarter of 2026.

The bankruptcy filing comes as EchoStar awaits completion of a $20 billion sale of spectrum assets to AT&T, a move that has been delayed. The company says it plans to use the proceeds from the sale to pay off most of its debt.