The U.S. pay-TV broadcaster also increased its full-year net earnings from $985 million in 2010 to $1.52 billion this year thanks to strong 2011 fourth quarter profits of $313 million.

   Dish Network gained approximately 22,000 net subscribers during the 2011 fourth quarter ending Dec. 31, which softened the impact of its full-year net subscriber loss to approximately 166,000 customers. The company now carries a total of about 13.967 million subscribers.

   Dish Network President and CEO Joe Clayton said the strong quarter was created by the introduction of new branded services from its recently acquired Blockbuster entity. “We’ve begun to turn the tide in subscriber losses while continuing to face increased competitive pressures. We look forward to the introduction of our new Hopper product this quarter, the most technically advanced whole-home HD DVR in the world,” Clayton said in a statement.