Subscriber additions helped Echostar Communications Corp. post a profit of $209 million in the third quarter 2005, more than double the net income of $102 million recorded in the same period in 2004, the company said Nov. 8. Echostar reported 11.7 million subscribers at the end of the most recent quarter, up from 10.5 million at the end of the third quarter 2004.

Revenue improved from $1.9 billion in the third quarter 2004 to $2.1 billion in the third quarter 2005, which ended Sept. 30. The company’s average revenue per user increased from $56.11 in the third quarter 2004 to $57.78 in the third quarter 2005 due to price increases on subscriber packages and higher equipment rental fees. Subscriber acquisition costs grew 25 percent to $402.6 million for the third quarter 2005 due to an increase in the number of non co-branded subscribers acquired in the most recent quarter.

Echostar’s Dish Network direct-to-home satellite television service added 255,000 net new subscribers during the third quarter 2005, down from 350,000 net new subscribers in the third quarter 2004. Echostar attributed the 27 percent drop in net new subscribers to increased churn and the “estimated impact of hurricanes Katrina and Rita,” the company said in its 10-Q filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Echostar is assessing the impact of the storms on its subscriber base but does not expect any impact on the company’s overall financial position.

Separately, Echostar announced it has added Ecuadorian network Canal Uno Internacional to its channel lineup. The Spanish-language network is available on three of Dish Network’s Latino packages.