DISH Network CORP

Item 1A. RISK FACTORS

Item 1A, Risk Factors, of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 includes a detailed discussion of our risk factors.

 The information presented below updates, and should be read in conjunction with, the risk factors and information disclosed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023.

Risks Relating to the DIRECTV Transaction

Termination of the Purchase Agreement or failure to otherwise complete the DIRECTV Transaction could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Termination of the Purchase Agreement or any failure to otherwise complete the DIRECTV Transaction may result in various adverse consequences, including:

If any of the foregoing consequences were to occur as a result of termination of the Purchase Agreement, it could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

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The timing of the completion of the DIRECTV Transaction is not certain, and is subject to certain conditions, some of which we cannot control, which could result in the DIRECTV Transaction not being completed or being completed later than we expect, which could have a material adverse impact on our costs and revenues or otherwise reducing the anticipated benefits of the DIRECTV Transaction.

Pursuant to the Purchase Agreement, the completion of the DIRECTV Transaction is subject to certain closing conditions, including, for example, the satisfaction of certain antitrust and other regulatory approvals and the successful exchange of DISH DBS Notes, none of which have been satisfied, and the absence of legal restraints prohibiting the completion of the DIRECTV Transaction. Governmental agencies may not approve the DIRECTV Transaction or may impose conditions to any such approval or require changes to the terms of the DIRECTV Transaction. Any such conditions or changes could have the effect of delaying completion of the DIRECTV Transaction, imposing costs on or limiting our revenues or otherwise reducing the anticipated benefits of the DIRECTV Transaction. Furthermore, under the Purchase Agreement, each partys obligation to consummate the DIRECTV Transaction is also subject to the accuracy of the representations and warranties of the other party (subject to certain qualifications and exceptions) and the performance in all material respects of the other partys covenants under the Purchase Agreement, including, with respect to us, certain covenants regarding the operation of our business prior to completion of the DIRECTV Transaction. As a result of these conditions, we cannot provide assurance that the DIRECTV Transaction will be completed on the terms or timeline currently contemplated, or at all. If such conditions are not fulfilled by the Outside Date or, if for any other reason, the DIRECTV Transaction is not completed on or prior to the Outside Date (as defined in the Purchase Agreement), the Purchase Agreement may be terminated and the DIRECTV Transaction may not be completed.

There is no assurance that we will be able to obtain the required governmental and regulatory approvals to complete the DIRECTV Transaction, which, if delayed or not granted, is likely to delay or jeopardize the DIRECTV Transaction.

The DIRECTV Transaction is conditioned on the expiration or termination of the applicable waiting period (or extension thereof) under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended, approval from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and possibly the consent of certain other merger control authorities and other governmental entities as set forth in the Purchase Agreement (collectively, Regulatory Approval). These governmental and regulatory agencies have broad discretion in administering the applicable governing regulations. As a condition to their approval of the transactions contemplated by the Purchase Agreement, those agencies may impose requirements, limitations or costs or require divestitures or place restrictions on the conduct of our business. The required approvals may not be obtained or the required conditions to the DIRECTV Transaction may not be satisfied, or, even if the required approvals are obtained and the conditions to the completion of the DIRECTV Transaction are satisfied, the terms, conditions and timing of such approvals are uncertain. Any delay in completing the DIRECTV Transaction could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The DIRECTV Transaction is conditioned on the consummation of a pre-closing reorganization, which requires the completion of transfers of certain assets and liabilities between us and certain of our affiliates, which transfers may require consents from or approval of third parties.

The Purchase Agreement is conditioned, among other things, upon the consummation of a pre-closing reorganization, which requires, among other things, that certain contracts and other assets, rights and liabilities are to be transferred between DISH DBS and certain of its affiliates in connection with the DIRECTV Transaction, as further described in the Purchase Agreement. The transfer of certain of these contracts and other assets, rights and liabilities may require consents or approvals of third parties or provide other rights to third parties.

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Some parties may use consent requirements or other rights to terminate contracts or obtain more favorable contractual terms from us, which, for example, could take the form of price increases for services or assets that we require, forcing us and/or our affiliates to either expend additional resources in order to obtain the services or assets previously provided under the contracts or to make arrangements with new third parties. If we do not obtain required consents or approvals, the DIRECTV Transaction may not be completed, or, if completed, we may not be reflective of the currently intended DIRECTV Transaction and we may be required to seek alternative arrangements, which may not come on a timely basis or at all, or be more costly and/or of lower quality.

The termination, modification, replacement or replication of these contracts or permits or the failure to timely complete the transfer or assignment of these contracts could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations and on the prospects for completion of the DIRECTV Transaction.

We have and continue to incur substantial transaction-related costs in connection with the DIRECTV Transaction. If the DIRECTV Transaction does not occur, we will not benefit from these transaction related costs.

We have incurred and will continue to incur a number of non-recurring costs associated with the completion of the DIRECTV Transaction and the satisfaction of the related closing conditions, which could be substantial. Nonrecurring transaction costs may include, but are not limited to, fees paid to legal, financial, consulting, investment banking and accounting advisors and costs incurred in connection with obtaining required consents or approvals from governmental authorities or contract counterparties. Such costs may be material and could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Furthermore, if the DIRECTV Transaction does not occur in a timely manner or at all, we may not be able to derive any benefit from such costs.

The announcement and pendency of the DIRECTV Transaction could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The announcement and pendency of the DIRECTV Transaction could cause disruptions in and create uncertainty surrounding our business, including affecting our relationships with respective existing and future customers, suppliers, vendors and employees, which could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations, regardless of whether the DIRECTV Transaction is completed. In particular, we could potentially lose customers, suppliers or vendors, and new contracts with any of these third parties could be delayed, increased or decreased, and we may lose important personnel as a result of the departure of employees who decide to pursue other opportunities in light of the DIRECTV Transaction.

Additionally, uncertainty about the completion and effect of the DIRECTV Transaction on our business, financial condition and results of operations may impair our ability to attract, retain and motivate personnel until the DIRECTV Transaction is completed. Employee retention may be particularly challenging during the pendency of the DIRECTV Transaction, as employees may feel uncertain about their future roles within each company after the completion of the DIRECTV Transaction. If such employees depart because of issues relating to the uncertainty relating to the DIRECTV Transaction or a desire not to continue to be employees of ours or DTV after the completion of the DIRECTV Transaction, this could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

In addition, we have expended, and continue to expend, significant management resources in an effort to complete the DIRECTV Transaction, which are being diverted from our day-to-day operations and future growth plans. In addition, the failure to complete the DIRECTV Transaction may result in negative publicity and/or a negative impression of us in the investment community and may affect our relationship with employees, customers and other partners in the business community.

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The Purchase Agreement subjects us to restrictions on our business activities prior to the completion of the DIRECTV Transaction.

The Purchase Agreement subjects us and our subsidiaries, particularly DISH DBS, to restrictions on our business activities prior to the completion of the DIRECTV Transaction. The Purchase Agreement obligates us generally to, among other things, operate our Pay-TV business in the ordinary course until the completion of the DIRECTV Transaction and to use our commercially reasonable efforts to preserve a substantially intact business organizations, operations and goodwill of the business and maintain in all material respects commercial relationships.

These restrictions on our business activities may adversely affect our ability to execute certain business strategies outside of the ordinary course of business, including paying dividends or making distributions, pursuing attractive business opportunities, making certain investments or acquisitions, hiring or terminating certain employees, selling, leasing, or licensing material real property, settling litigation matters, entering into certain material contracts, selling assets, engaging in capital expenditures, incurring indebtedness or making changes to its business. Such limitations could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations prior to the completion of the DIRECTV Transaction.

The risks described above may be exacerbated by delays or other adverse developments with respect to the completion of the DIRECTV Transaction. For additional information, see the complete set of terms and conditions of the DIRECTV Transaction included in the Purchase Agreement.

The Purchase Agreement also obligates us to, among other things, incur certain costs, make substantial investments in the Pay-TV business and take other actions, that absent the Purchase Agreement, we may or may not have taken. Absent certain exemptions in the Purchase Agreement, we are obligated to take such actions regardless if the DIRECTV Transaction is completed. These actions may be different than the historical manner in which we ran the business.

As a holding company, we are dependent on the operations and funds of our subsidiaries.

We are a holding company with no business operations of our own. Our only significant assets are the outstanding equity interests in our subsidiaries. As a result, we rely on cash flows from subsidiaries to meet our obligations, including to service any of our debt obligations. On September 30, 2024, we announced a sale of our Pay-TV business, from which we derive a substantial portion of our cash flow. With the sale of that business, and the interim operating covenants that restrict our access to that cash, we will be required to, among other things, sell our Pay-TV business and transfer at least $400 million of cash (subject to certain upward adjustments) to DTV upon closing of the DIRECTV Transaction and we are prevented from declaring any dividend or otherwise permitting any leakage in excess of $1.520 billion (subject to certain adjustments set forth in the Purchase Agreement, including transaction expenses and certain accrued interest adjustments and adjustments tied to certain key performance indicators) between the signing and closing of the DIRECTV Transaction.

As a result, our ability to fund our Wireless business will be limited to by our cash flow from operations and ability to generate capital from our other businesses.

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