Organization and Business Activities

6 Months Ended

12 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2011

Dec. 31, 2010

Organization and Business Activities

Organization and Business Activities

1. Organization and Business Activities

Principal Business

DISH DBS Corporation (which together with its subsidiaries is referred to as “DDBS,” the “Company,” “we,” “us” and/or “our”) is a holding company and an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of DISH Network Corporation (“DISH”).  DDBS was formed under Colorado law in January 1996 and its common stock is held by DISH Orbital Corporation, a direct subsidiary of DISH.  We operate the DISH Network® direct broadcast satellite (“DBS”) subscription television service (“DISH Network”) in the United States which had 14.056 million subscribers as of June 30, 2011.  The DISH Network DBS System consists of our licensed Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) authorized DBS and Fixed Satellite Service (“FSS”) spectrum, our owned and leased satellites, receiver systems, third-party broadcast operations, customer service facilities, leased fiber network, in-home service and call center operations, and certain other assets utilized in our operations.

On January 1, 2008, DISH completed the distribution of its technology and set-top box business and certain infrastructure assets (the “Spin-off”) into a separate publicly-traded company, EchoStar Corporation (“EchoStar”).  DISH, including us, and EchoStar operate as separate publicly-traded companies, and neither entity has any ownership interest in the other.  However, a substantial majority of the voting power of the shares of both companies is owned beneficially by Charles W. Ergen, our Chairman or by certain trusts established by Mr. Ergen for the benefit of his family.

1.     Organization and Business Activities

Principal Business

DISH DBS Corporation (which together with its subsidiaries is referred to as “DDBS,” the “Company,” “we,” “us” and/or “our”) is a holding company and an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of DISH Network Corporation (“DISH”). DDBS was formed under Colorado law in January 1996 and its common stock is held by DISH Orbital Corporation, a direct subsidiary of DISH. We operate the DISH Network® direct broadcast satellite (“DBS”) subscription television service (“DISH Network”) in the United States which had 14.133 million subscribers as of December 31, 2010. We have deployed substantial resources to develop the “DISH Network DBS System.” The DISH Network DBS System consists of our licensed Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) authorized DBS and Fixed Satellite Service (“FSS”) spectrum, our owned and leased satellites, receiver systems, third-party broadcast operations, customer service facilities, leased fiber network, in-home service and call center operations, and certain other assets utilized in our operations.

Spin-off of Technology and Certain Infrastructure Assets

On January 1, 2008, DISH completed the distribution of its technology and set-top box business and certain infrastructure assets (the “Spin-off”) into a separate publicly-traded company, EchoStar Corporation (“EchoStar”). DISH, including us, and EchoStar operate as separate publicly-traded companies, and neither entity has any ownership interest in the other. However, a substantial majority of the voting power of the shares of both companies is owned beneficially by Charles W. Ergen, our Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer or by certain trusts established by Mr. Ergen for the benefit of his family.

The two entities consist of the following:

· DISH Network Corporation - which retained its subscription television business, the DISH Network®, and

· EchoStar Corporation - which sells equipment, including set-top boxes and related components, to DISH Network and international customers, and provides digital broadcast operations and satellite services to DISH Network and other customers.

Following the Spin-off, DDBS operates in only one reportable segment, the DISH Network segment, which provides a DBS subscription television service in the United States.