NEW YORK: EchoStar Communications Corporation, the satellite television service, earned a third-quarter profit of $35.1 million after taking subscribers from cable TV services.
 

The net income of seven cents a share was in contrast to a loss of $167.9 million, or 35 cents a share, in the period a year earlier. Sales increased 19 per cent, to $1.45 billion from $1.22 billion, the company said in a regulatory filing.

EchoStar's Dish Network has been taking customers away from cable TV, but the 285,000 subscribers that the company added in the quarter were fewer than some analysts projected.