• by Wayne Friedman , November 4, 2014

Dish Network posted higher revenue but fewer subscribers and sharply lower net income for its third-quarter reporting period.

Revenue improved 5% to $3.68 billion, although Dish has 12,000 net less subscribers in the quarter -- now at 14.041 million. A year ago, it grew pay subscribers by 35,000. Current third-quarter customers average monthly bills grew to $84.39, from $80.98.

For its budding broadband business, Dish added 28,000 subscribers in the third quarter, bringing its broadband subscriber total to about 553,000.

Net income was about half that of a year ago: $146 million compared to $315 million from the same time period in 2013.

Dish did not meet some analysts' expectations. On a per-share basis, Wall Street was expecting 41 cents a share -- and it delivered 31 cents a share. Midday trading of Dish Network stock was down 2.5% to $62.22.

Amid a struggling pay TV business, Dish Network has announced an effort to start up a cloud-based Internet TV service for cost-conscious "cord-cutters" -- people who have dropped their pay-TV subscriptions, or "cord-nevers," those who have never subscribed to pay TV.

Walt Disney’s TV channels and A+E Networks have signed on to the new service.