Longtime D satellite TV operator Dish DBS, a subsidiary of EchoStar, has filed for bankruptcy protection. A once-leading telecom of 45 years’ standing, it is now $25 billion in debt and has only 5 million subscribers.

Cordcutter News offers, “Subscriber losses in the traditional linear television segment have accelerated as consumers increasingly shift toward streaming services, cord-cutting trends, and alternative entertainment options.”

This latest development underscores the transformative challenges facing the pay-TV industry. As consumer habits evolve and technology advances, companies like EchoStar must balance debt management with innovation and regulatory compliance. The outcome of Dish DBS’s bankruptcy proceedings may influence not only the company’s trajectory but also the competitive dynamics across the American telecommunications sector for years to come.

Luke Bouma, “Another Major Cable TV Provider is Preparing For Bankruptcy Tomorrow” June 29, 2026.

That’s a nice way of putting a cruel fact: TV is a dying industry. Remember the once-mighty mass audiences? There are 500 networks broadcasting in the U.S. and if it weren’t for football and such, there would not typically even be a mass audience today.

The internet is not so timebound as TV and it is much more interactive

The ability to watch, largely, whatever we want whenever we want has changed our relationship to media.

If you hear about, say, a local bridge collapse, you may not need to wait for veteran broadcaster Dan Reliable to tell you about it on the 6:00 o‘clock news. Someone whose phone caught a video could be broadcasting on Facebook minutes later, with bystander Friends adding notes — which may include notes from people listening in on police band.*

As these changes seep through the system, they change our relationships to media. For example, the cries of outrage about censorship or unfair treatment of late night comics Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert miss the point. It’s mainly Boomers who are watching now — people who grew up on TV — and they are a fading demographic. Who else stays up late to watch at a specific time? The whole Late Nite TV concept is timebound by nature.

*Note: During the dreadful Auchterlonie shootings in my own neighbourhood in Victoria, BC, in 2023, many of us relied a good deal on immediate resident news, as the area was cordoned off by police.