EchoSTAR Now Officially Dish Network

By Geoff Duncan
December 10, 2007

Satellite TV operator EchoStar has officially changed its name to Dish Network, and will spin its hardware business to a separate company.

Satellite television operator EchoStar has notified its shareholders that it plans to change its name to Dish Network, mirroring the name of the company's most popular satellite TV offering. In addition, the firm plans to spin off its satellite receiver and commercial satellite lines into EchoStar Holding Company, which will eventually take on the name EchoStar Communications.

EchoStar is currently embroiled in a awarded $74 million in damages in mid-2006.

The EchoStar spin-off company will also apparently include recent acquisition Sling Media, which develops "place shifting" technology enabling users to tap into their home media libraries—including live television—from anywhere in the world via broadband Internet.