S&P rates EchoStar notes BB-, affirms DISH

Standard & Poor's said it assigned a BB- rating with a recovery rating of 3 to EchoStar DBS Corp.'s $750 million 7¾% senior notes due 2015. The agency also affirmed parent company DISH Network Corp.'s BB- corporate credit rating, affirmed the BB- rating assigned to its unsecured senior notes and upgraded the recovery rating on these notes to 3 from 4.

The outlook is stable.

Proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes.

The agency said the upgrade of the recovery ratings was precipitated by a refinement of its recovery analysis based on S&P's somewhat improved view of DISH's business position and the company's ability to maintain its market share in the very competitive residential video market.

The ratings on DISH are constrained by uncertainty regarding strategic and financial policies and reflect intense competition from cable TV system operators and its direct-to-home satellite rival, DirecTV Group Inc., S&P said.

Tempering factors include modest leverage for the rating category at the high 1 times area; healthy growth in revenues and subscribers, fueled by rising penetration of advanced set-top boxes, multi-room installations and increasing HD channel offerings; and good liquidity from healthy discretionary cash flow and a sizable cash balance, the agency said.

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