Dish Network Corp. announced several enhancements to its DISH Anywhere(TM) mobile app, including access to On Demand programming on Android (4.0 and higher) and Apple iOS (5.0 and higher) mobile devices, available May 20, 2013. All Dish customers can access On Demand content associated with their programming package regardless of their set-top box model. The update also includes DISH Anywhere integration with Twitter and Facebook, giving consumers the ability to share their viewing experiences. With a new update to the DISH Anywhere app, users can share what they're watching directly to Twitter or Facebook from within the app. To meet the growing trend of customers taking their TV shows on the go, DISH expanded access to its On Demand library to include iPhone and Android phones and tablets, a feature previously available only on the iPad. On Demand access brings viewers thousands of titles from a variety of networks that can be watched anywhere customers have an Internet connection. Since its launch in January, DISH Anywhere has transformed the ability of viewers to watch live and recorded programming anytime, anywhere. The app enhancements also allow users to instantly share their mobile viewing experiences on social networks. The new social networking feature enables viewers to post what they are watching in real-time on Facebook and Twitter. Consumers can create personalized comments to share with friends and family or, for quicker and easier postings, use hashtags and words already populated by the app. Existing viewing features of the DISH Anywhere mobile app include the ability to watch live TV channels in a user's programming package via Sling technology, access their personal DVR and view up to eight days of network programming via PrimeTime Anytime. DISH Anywhere DVR management features include the ability to search for programs via the guide or use keywords, schedule recordings from the app, manage recording conflicts and delete recorded shows.

Dish Network Corp. (NasdaqGS:DISH) made a $2 billion bid for LightSquared Inc. according to people familiar with the offer. Dish Network’s bid is a stalking-horse agreement, used in bankruptcy proceedings to establish a minimum price for an asset sale. A stalking-horse bid would have to be approved by the judge before being used to open an auction. The offer which was made on May 15, 2013, will expire on May 31, 2013, the people said. LightSquared would use the proceeds from selling its airwaves to pay off secured debt, according to the people.

In Coats v. Dish Network, plaintiff Brandon Coats, a quadriplegic who claims he used marijuana on his own time for medical reasons, sued Dish Network Corp. after the company fired him for his use of the drug. Coats argued that Dish had no cause to fire him because under Colorado's Lawful Activities Statute, employees are protected from being punished by employers for their legal, off-duty activities. The Court of Appeals decision, published April 25, held that an activity can be "lawful" under the state's Lawful Activities Statute only if it's legal under both state and federal law. That ruling could have broader implications for Colorado's Amendment 64, which changed state law to legalize small amounts of marijuana for recreational use but did not change federal laws. Denver attorney Michael Evans, who is representing Coats in the Dish case, told the Denver Business Journal earlier that they'll appeal the ruling to the Colorado Supreme Court. The April 25 decision was the second time the Colorado Court of Appeals ruled in favor of employers on the medical marijuana issue, Magruder said. In an Aug. 28, 2011, decision, the appeals court held that employee Jason M. Beinor wasn't entitled to collect unemployment benefits after being fired by Service Group Inc. for his medical marijuana use. The attorneys interviewed for this story agreed the Coats case had to be difficult for Dish, because the employee is disabled, had a medical marijuana card and, according to his attorney, had been ranked in the top 5% of Dish call center representatives.