Hey, if they actually started conversing with us (I don't count those softball throwing mentally challenged types that the screeners put through on the chats) then MAYBE we can work on fixing this ship.
Right now E* is at a competitive disadvantage and D*, the sleeping giant, has finally awoken with a vengeance. E*, the HD leader? Please. Sports? Hey, points for most improved by adding MLB, NHL, and the NBA (except that you haven't really added all of them yet..... No Yankees, Devils (whenever they come back), etc.). D* keeps throwing gigantic sums of $ at the NFL for the exclusive rights, and I understand you can't beat that right now. Cricket and English soccer is useless for most of the American audience who haven't been transplanted from other parts of the world to the USA. Right now, the last thing you can claim is the "low price" angle, and a lot of companies went broke chasing THAT audience. Most of the "whales" have already (or are planning to) jump ship unless things change quickly.
E*, you lost the momentum you had two years ago when you were adding market share at D*'s expense (you were both growing, but E* was growing subscribers faster with the LIL and Internationals). You've run out of gas on the LIL front (few markets left to open), and D* is stealing sports fans and HD fans, which will drive their numbers up even higher over the next year. You DO have the largest share of the PVR market, and should continue to push that angle, but you NEED to embrace HD more or plan on your exit strategy before Echostar begins to look like Blockbuster (a company whose best years are behind it).
In business, you are either growing or you are dying. The latter tends to rush up at a LOT of companies faster than they expect. Don't ignore the warnings and right the ship now (or at least outline your plans to help deflect some of the criticism).
