Ex-Charter CEO Tapped for EchoStar Board Monday May 9, 4:56 pm ET By Jim Suhr, AP Business Writer Ex-Charter CEO Tapped for Board at EchoStar, Nation's No. 2 Satellite Television Company
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Carl Vogel, who left Charter Communications Inc. in January as the cable television provider struggled with debt and fierce competition from satellite-TV rivals, has joined the board of the nation's No. 2 satellite television company. ADVERTISEMENT
EchoStar Communications Corp., which operates The Dish Network, announced Vogel's appointment in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing late last week. Vogel served as EchoStar's president from 1995 to 1997.
Vogel has extensive experience in satellite TV services, once served as vice president of Liberty Media Corp. and CEO of Liberty Satellite and Technology, a related company. He also has served as chairman and CEO of Primestar Inc., a national provider of subscription television services.
Vogel resigned in January as Charter's president and CEO after it lost $4.35 billion for 2004 on the heels of a $242 million loss in 2003. Charter has a debt load of $18.9 billion. Robert May, a Charter director, has served as interim CEO and president of the nation's No. 3 cable TV provider since Vogel left.
St. Louis-based Charter -- controlled by Microsoft Corp. co-founder Paul Allen -- last week reported a wider first-quarter loss than a year ago but said increased signups to its high-speed Internet services powered revenues.
EchoStar, based in suburban Denver, reported a profit in the first quarter, helped by subscriber growth and a one-time gain from an insurance settlement.
EchoStar is second nationally to DirecTV, and said its Dish Network service added about 325,000 net new subscribers during the January-through-March period, bringing the total to 11.23 million.
DirecTV U.S. added 505,000 net subscribers during the quarter to bring its total to 14.5 million.
Shares of EchoStar rose 32 cents to close at $28.25 Monday on the Nasdaq Stock Market, where they have traded in the range of $26.95 to $34.38 over the past year. Shares of Charter rose a penny to close at $1.16 on the Nasdaq, near the lower end of their 52-week range of $1.06 to $4.06.
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