Charles William “Charlie” Ergen (born March 1, 1953) is an American businessman and is the co-founder and current Chairman of the Board, and former President and CEO of Dish Network and EchoStar Communications Corporation. He stepped down as CEO in May 2011 in favor of Joseph Clayton. He remains Chairman of the Board of both companies. Ergen resumed as CEO upon Clayton’s March 31, 2015 retirement. Ergen owns 52 percent of Dish and Echostar shares and holds 88 percent of its total voting power.
With an estimated 2014 net worth of $17B, Ergen is reportedly the wealthiest person in Colorado.
EchoStar
Ergen, his future wife Candy, and James De Franco started a new business called EchoSphere Corporation, investing $60,000. They purchased two C-Band antennas and targeted rural Colorado. They drove around Denver on a small budget, selling satellite dishes from the back of their truck.
In 1990, Ergen pushed EchoStar into the big leagues by raising $335 million in junk bonds and purchasing orbital slots for satellites. Two years later, EchoStar got a DBS license from the Federal Communications Commission, giving the company its own geostationary orbital slot. In 1993, EchoStar Communications was incorporated. Under Ergen, EchoStar’s net income doubled to $20.4 million, in 1993.
DISH
Main article: Dish Network
Under Ergen, EchoStar and DISH acquired multiple companies, after an $8 million deal for 22 channel assignments of DBSC.
EchoStar purchased a 40% stake in Direct Broadcast Satellite Corporation (DBSC) in 1994, and the remaining 60% two years later.
In 1998, EchoStar reached a deal with Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp to buy the DBS assets of American Sky Broadcasting and MCI Worldcom-News Corp. venture satellite television assets for $1.25 billion. This would increase EchoStar’s channels from 200 to 500, and give News Corp and MCI 37 percent interest in EchoStar. However, the deal fell apart at the last minute.
In 2007, EchoStar acquired Sling Media Inc, a provider of over-the-top video solutions, for $380 million USD.
In 2011, DISH and EchoStar completed several acquisitions:
EchoStar bought out Hughes Communications Inc. for an estimated $1.32 billion.
DISH acquired struggling DBSD North America in a $1 billion deal to enhance its existing wireless spectrum.
DISH bought bankrupt video rental chain Blockbuster LLC in a deal valued at an estimated $228 million.
DISH bought TerreStar for $1.38 billion in a bid to add the latter’s mobile wireless spectrum to its portfolio.
Under Ergen, DISH was the first satellite provider to offer two-way high-speed internet access and the first to introduce a Digital video recorder in a set-top box. He was also instrumental in making satellite receivers available for under $200. In 2012, the Big Four Broadcasters, NBC, CBS, ABC and Fox filed a suit against Dish Network after it launched AutoHop, a technology that records broadcasting programming and plays it back without commercials. DISH filed a suit seeking a declaratory judgment asserting the legality of the judgment. Preliminary injunction by Fox to block the service was denied. Ergen has stated that DISH’s present focus is on acquiring a significant share of the spectrum for cellular wireless services. Dish is also looking for a partner to build a wireless network, with Google and AT&T speculated to be potential partners.
- Charlie Ergen is the cofounder and chairman of satellite TV provider Dish Network and satellite communications company EchoStar.
- Ergen first began selling satellite dishes out of the back of a truck in Colorado in 1980.
- He took Dish public in 1996. Today, it boasts over 12 million subscribers.
- EchoStar, which has some two dozen satellites in space, was spun off from Dish in 2008.
- Ergen stepped down as CEO of Dish for the second time in 2017 to focus on the company’s new wireless network for the Internet of Things.
Source: