Wave Issue 9037 4/07/99 Article 11-01

***EchoStar Reports Fourth Quarter Results
(March 18)

EchoStar Communications Corporation reported that its 1998 fourth
quarter revenue increased more than 60% as compared to the fourth
quarter of 1997. EchoStar's fourth quarter revenues totaled $287
million and $179 million for the three-month periods ended
December 31, 1998, and December 31, 1997, respectively.

EchoStar also reported pre-marketing cash flow of $90 million for
the three months ended December 31, 1998, as compared to $53
million for the corresponding period in 1997. Earnings before
interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization ("EBITDA") during
the fourth quarter of 1998 totaled negative $45 million compared
to negative EBITDA of $9 million during the same period in 1997.
EchoStar experienced its strongest ever DISH Network subscriber
growth during the fourth quarter of 1998, adding 331,000 net
subscribers for a cumulative total of 1.94 million subscribers as
of December 31, 1998.

As expected, operating and net losses for the quarter ended
December 31, 1998, increased as compared to the corresponding
period in 1997. EchoStar reported an operating loss of $70
million and $48 million for the three months ended December 31,
1998, and December 31, 1997, respectively. The Company's net
losses totaled $113 million and $71 million during those same
periods. These increases in EchoStar's net losses principally
resulted from increases in marketing expenses (including
subscriber acquisition costs) as well as increases in DISH
Network operating expenses.

For the year ended December 31, 1998, EchoStar reported total
revenue of $983 million compared to $477 million for the
corresponding period in 1997. Pre-marketing cash flow totaled
$300 million during the year ended December 31, 1998, compared to
$129 million during the year ended December 31, 1997. EBITDA for
the year ended December 31, 1998, totaled negative $20 million,
compared to EBITDA of negative $51 million for the corresponding
period in 1997. EchoStar's operating loss for the year ended
December 31, 1998, improved to $123 million compared to $224
million reported during the corresponding period in 1997. The
Company's net losses totaled $261 million and $313 million during
those same periods. The improvement in EchoStar's 1998 results
compared to 1997 is principally attributable to the increase in
DISH Network and ETC revenues.

www.echostar.com