Charles Ergen: The Initial Days

Charles Ergen: The Initial Days

Charles Ergen: The Initial Days

Charles Ergen has an exciting future. But it is his past that still sparks off stories and kick-starts conversation. His initial days as an entrepreneur are both interesting and inspiring. Start-ups have a lot to learn from the example of Charles Ergen. It is hard to believe that the owner of a company the size of Dish Network Inc. started off with two satellite dishes, one of which got destroyed before it was put to any use! It only speaks volumes about the grit and determination of Charles Ergen to build up an empire that has redefined the entertainment industry of America. When we pick up the story of Charles Ergin, it has something that popular paperbacks are made of. It has all the ingredients of a bestseller, a rags-to-riches story, an ambitious protagonist, helpful friends and a very powerful public figure as the antagonist.

The story starts off at Las Vegas. Charles Ergen and his friend Jim DeFranco are playing card games in the world-famous casinos of the city. They pass themselves off as professional gamblers. They are accused of counting cards at the blackjack table and thrown out of the city. On their feet with nothing to cushion their fall, the two men see a truck carrying satellite TV dishes across the country. The gambler in them instantly prompts them to take up this business. Charles Ergen and DeFranco, along with Ergen's would-be wife Cantey, pool together $60,000 and float a company. They buy two huge satellite dishes and decide to carry them over to Colorado. The smart entrepreneur in Ergen knows that Colorado cannot afford to have cable TV because of the geological terrain. Satellite TV can be their best bet and that's what he was going to sell them.

Fate had other plans for the trio. As they proceeded towards Colorado in a truck, there was a severe gust of wind. One of the satellite dishes they were carrying got blown off. They were stranded with just one for their use. Undaunted by their plight, they decide to push forward with what they have. They display the advantages of using satellite dishes and the joys of watching satellite TV channels. Charles Ergen was confident that they were on the brink of creating history with what they have on their hands. He was sure that with the progress of technology, the crude ways of the satellite TV system will wash off and people would be queuing up for these dishes in the near future.

With relentless hard work, Charles Ergen obtained a DBS license from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) body to launch his own satellite. He was assigned an orbit to run his satellite TV business. Charles Ergen had raised some $335 million in junk bonds. This move brought him face-to-face with his more powerful competitors in the market. Among them was the media moghul Rupert Murdoch. In 1998, Ergen sued Murdoch for backing out of a merger. That was the start of a decade long spat between the two most influential figures of American TV.

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