Dish profit rises but subscriber growth slows (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. satellite television operator Dish Network Corp posted a 14 percent rise in quarterly profit on Tuesday but said subscriber growth slowed because of the housing market slump and increased competition.

Shares in the company, formerly known as EchoStar Communications Corp, fell 5 percent to 29.11 in premarket trading on Tuesday.

Dish Network said it added about 85,000 net new subscribers during the fourth quarter, taking the total to 13.78 million.

In the third quarter, the company added 110,000 subscribers. It blamed the slowdown in customer growth on promotional offers and aggressive marketing of high-definition (HD) local channels by its competitors.

"Satellite launch delays at DISH Network have slowed its growth of local HD markets, which in turn has delayed its own aggressive retention marketing efforts," Dish Network said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

"Subscriber growth was also affected by worsening economic conditions, which included a slowdown in new housing starts," it added.

Dish Network said its fourth-quarter net income rose to 175 million, or 39 cents basic earnings per share, from 153 million, or 35 cents a share, in the year-earlier quarter.

Revenue rose 12 percent to 2.89 billion, compared with the average Wall Street forecast of 2.86 billion, according to Reuters Estimates.

The company completed the spin-off of its technology assets, including its set-top box business, on January 1.

(Reporting by Sinead Carew and Tiffany Wu; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick and Steve Orlofsky)