Want free satellite TV? Rename your town

The nation's No. 2 satellite television provider wants to dish out free service to any town willing to rename itself "Dish."

EchoStar Communications Corp., which operates the Dish Network, said Tuesday it will provide 10 years' worth of free satellite television service for every household in a U.S. town that legally makes the change.

The service will include a receiver, standard installation and a programming package for every household. In exchange, the municipality must change its name permanently, including on buildings and signs.

The service would cost about $4 million for 1,000 households, the nation's No. 2 satellite television provider estimated. Interested cities have until Nov. 1 to submit a proposal.

"It's an exciting concept and we hope it will become a buzz of any town large or small," EchoStar spokesman Mark Cicero said.

The promotion comes on the heels of EchoStar's newest advertising campaign and a contest that will allow the winner to name EchoStar's next satellite.

"EchoStar comes up with some cute marketing campaigns," said Janco Partners telecommunications analyst Matthew Harrigan. "Sometimes they are a little bit offensive; this isn't offensive, but I don't know what the point of it is."

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCBP leaders cut out of Trump ad buy decision

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAmerican passenger drafted goodbye texts to her family as Flydubai plane plummeted

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation pushes embattled New York prosecutor into national spotlight

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

EchoStar is positioning itself to face stiffer competition not only from rival DirecTV but also from telephone companies and cable companies ramping up Internet services.

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCBP leaders cut out of Trump ad buy decision

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAmerican passenger drafted goodbye texts to her family as Flydubai plane plummeted

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation pushes embattled New York prosecutor into national spotlight

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

"They're having trouble adding customers," Harrigan said. "Their market is getting very saturated and they don't have a bundle like the cable companies do, so it's difficult for them."

Englewood-based EchoStar added about 225,000 net subscribers during the second quarter, a 33 percent drop from new customers in the second quarter of 2004. Its total of 11.5 million subscribers was up 13 percent.

DirecTV reported a 45 percent drop in net subscriber additions in the second quarter to put its total at 17.7 million, up 12.5 percent.

EchoStar's name-change bid is not the first. In the 1950s, the New Mexico town of Hot Springs legally changed its name to Truth or Consequences after a popular television program.