EchoStar Reports Record Results for Fourth Quarter and Year Ended December 31, 1999; DISH Network Sets Record with 1.4 Million Net New Customers in 1999 - Company Financial Information

Cambridge Telcom Report, March 20, 2000

EchoStar Communications Corporation (EchoStar) (NASDAQ: DISH; DISHP) Monday reported total revenue of $1.6 billion for the year ended Dec. 31, 1999 compared to $983 million for the corresponding period in 1998. Pre-marketing cash flow totaled $554 million during the year ended Dec. 31, 1999, compared to $300 million during the year ended Dec. 31, 1998. EchoStar continued to experience record-setting DISH Network customer growth during the fourth quarter of 1999, adding approximately 438,000 net subscribers for a cumulative total of 3.4 million customers as of Dec. 31, 1999.

With record customer growth, EchoStar experienced increased up front acquisition costs, resulting in increased operating and net losses compared to the corresponding period in 1998. Consequently, EchoStar's operating loss for the year ended Dec. 31, 1999, totaled $347 million compared to $123 million reported during the corresponding period in 1998. The Company's net losses totaled $793 million and $261 million during those same periods. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) for the year ended Dec. 31, 1999, totaled negative $173 million, compared to EBITDA of negative $20 million for the corresponding period in 1998. The increased losses principally resulted from EchoStar's continuing strategy to subsidize rapid subscriber acquisition and resulting increases in DISH Network operating expenses.

For the three months ended Dec. 31, 1999, EchoStar reported total revenue of $515 million, a 79 percent increase in total revenue as compared to the fourth quarter of 1998. EchoStar also reported pre-marketing cash flow of $164 million for the three months ended Dec. 31, 1999, as compared to $90 million for the corresponding period in 1998. P. As expected, with record subscriber growth, operating and net losses for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 1999 increased as compared to the corresponding period in 1998. EchoStar reported an operating loss of $161 million and $70 million for the three months ended Dec. 31, 1999, and Dec. 31, 1998, respectively. The Company's net losses totaled $220 million and $113 million during those same periods. EBITDA during the fourth quarter of 1999 totaled negative $71 million compared to negative EBITDA of $45 million during the same period in 1998.

Key EchoStar Communications Corporation 1999 Highlights:

-- During 1999, more than 1.4 million net new customers were added to DISH Network, an increase of 63% from 1998.

-- After posting a 706.2 percent gain for 1999, EchoStar was included in the Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) which contains the largest non-financial companies on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

-- In November, DISH Network became the first DBS service to offer customers their local broadcast channels after President Clinton signed the satellite TV legislation into law.

-- J.D. Powers and Associates ranked DISH Network number one in overall customer satisfaction in the 1999 Cable/Satellite TV Customer Satisfaction Study and the Consumer Reports customer satisfaction survey rated DISH Network highest in the "Satellite TV Providers" category.

-- In July and October, EchoStar completed two-for-one splits of its outstanding class A and class B common stock.

-- On September 23, 1999, the Company's fifth high-powered DBS satellite, EchoStar V, was successfully launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

For more information about EchoStar, visit the new investor relations section of our website at www.echostar.com.

EchoStar Communications Corp., includes three interrelated business units:

-- DISH Networkis EchoStar's state-of-the-art direct broadcast satellite system that is capable of offering over 500 channels of digital video and CD-quality audio programming, including Dolby Digital surround sound, high-speed interactive television and data services, all on a single dish, as well as offering fully MPEG-2/DVB compliant hardware and installation. DISH Network was ranked number one in customer satisfaction among satellite/cable TV subscribers by the J.D. Power and Associates 1999 Cable/Satellite TV Customer Satisfaction Study. EchoStar will launch the EchoStar VI satellite in the spring of 2000 that will offer DISH Network customers expanded programming services, local channels, Dolby Digital surround sound, interactive television and more.

-- EchoStar Technologies Corporation designs, distributes and oversees the manufacturing of DBS set-top boxes, antennas and other digital equipment for DISH Network and various international customers that include Bell ExpressVu Canada and the Via Digital system in Spain. ETC provides construction, oversight and project integration services for customers internationally. ETC also oversees EchoStar Data Networks Corporation in Atlanta, a leading supplier of MediaStream technology for distributing Internet content over satellite networks.

-- Satellite Services provides the delivery of interactive video, audio and data services to business television customers and other satellite users. These services include satellite uplink, satellite transponder space usage and other services. Satellite Services also administers SKY VISTA, a direct broadcast satellite service offering popular digital satellite television programming to viewers in Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the U.S. territories in the Caribbean.