Consumers stream content, whenever, wherever and on whatever device they choose
Dish Network has acquired quite a bit of wireless spectrum. What will CEO Charlie Ergen do with this valuable asset? It sounds like Dish growth will come from wireless and it appears T-Mobile US may play a role. However, the future is much bigger and different. So let’s take a closer look at what Dish may do and if it will be successful.
Dish market share is roughly 14% – it has not really moved in years. Where will growth come from? We have watched Charlie Ergen scoop up wireless data spectrum in recent years and wondered why. Years ago it was less clear, but as the industry changes Dish’s strategy is becoming crystal clear.
While there has been no announcement from Dish, speculation is wild. And to tell you the truth, it sounds like there is a real potential for Dish to change and enter the wireless universe. After understanding the path, the next question is simple: Will it succeed?
On one hand it seems to make sense. After all, it appears that AT&T, a wireless and telecom company, is getting ready to acquire DirecTV. When looking at it from this perspective it might make just as much sense for a satellite television company to grow wirelessly as well.
On the other hand, we have seen Dish Network competitors like cable television companies Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Cox fall flat on their faces and fail in the wireless world. Because wireless is such a rapidly growing and changing space, that failure simply means these companies didn’t understand the rules of wireless success.
So what makes Ergen think Dish can be successful in wireless when his larger competitors fell flat on their faces? The changing direction of the industry has become clearer in recent years. We have watched Netflix change from mailing out DVD’s to streaming over the Internet and growing like crazy.
Plus, people no longer just watch TV from their home set any longer. They watch over their wireless devices like smartphones, tablets, watches and computers. They watch whatever they want, wherever they are, whenever they want.
Perhaps that’s where T-Mobile US enters the scene. Could Dish Network and T-Mobile US be getting ready to partner on this wireless opportunity?
Perhaps. In recent interviews, Charlie Ergen, CEO of Dish Networks and John Legere, CEO of T-Mobile US had glowing things to say about each other. If you’ve been following this sector, you know how unusual that is.
If this is the Ergen plan, it sounds like a winner so far. The reason is simple: Television is changing, so the way networks deliver their product must change as well, and wireless is a key component.
In fact, since the world of television and entertainment is changing, if Dish Network does not change and update itself, it will be relegated to the past.
This is a defining moment for Dish Network.
Remember the wave, which I often talk about? This is a perfect example. The wave grows, then crests, then falls. Traditional television over cable TV or satellite grew for years, but in recent years that growth wave has crested.
This challenges every competitor in the space. They must adapt and continue to grow, or they will crest and begin to fall. The traditional cable television and satellite business has crested. Now the question is what’s next for these industry leaders of yesterday?
New competitors like Telephone Company IPTV are rapidly growing, and AT&T Uverse, Verizon FiOS and CenturyLink Prism are challenging traditional cable television.
That’s why Comcast is chasing them with their new Xfinity. IPTV is the future whether it is delivered wirelessly or over the wired Internet.
That’s the challenge faced by every competitor in this space. Satellite television is more limited with its technology so it must transform. AT&T is acquiring DirecTV. The next question is about Dish Network’s future.
Remember, the wireless world has several different slices. We have been talking about delivering wireless television, but there is also the handset side with smartphones and networks.
Google, for instance, is successful with their Android operating system, but not with their Nexus phones. Now Google is moving into the network space to sell its own services as an MVNO like Tracfone. Will this be successful?
Not every newcomer to wireless is successful. Just look at both Facebook and Amazon.com with their Fire phone as examples. Wireless is a tough business and has lots of different slices.
So will Dish be successful in wireless? That’s the question. We’ll see. However, television and smartphones and wireless are all changing and merging and morphing.
This is an enormous opportunity for companies that get it right, and risk for companies that miss.
We have yet to hear any details from Dish Networks. We don’t know the details of the services like voice, data and television over the wireless network available to customers anywhere they are. We also don’t know about partners, like possibly T-Mobile US.
We don’t know anything official. However, looking at the changes in the rest of the industry and the changes that Dish needs to make going forward, I think we can make an educated guess they will be entering the wireless industry.
The question is how far? Will it use wireless to expand its television offerings only, or will it also be making voice services and smartphones and wireless Internet available to customers as well.
Will the company still just compete in the television space or will its world expand to include wireless, Internet and telephone?
We don’t have all the answers yet, or whether Dish will be successful or not, but we do know that changes are rewriting all these different industries. We also know that Dish has been successful in the past and we should prepare for it to expand going forward.
