Dish sub losses push pay TV sector into red: economy, housing slump bear blame but 'cord-cutting' could be a factor.(Finance)

Dish Network's return to net new subscriber losses in the second quarter may have inadvertently done more than signal that the low-cost satellite-TV service provider could be in store for rough times.

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It may also add to evidence that "cord-cutting"--once laughed off by cable, telco and satellite providers alike--is coming closer to reality.

Dish Network was the last publicly traded pay TV service provider to release second-quarter results on Aug. 9, and by losing 19,000 customers--its first quarterly loss after four consecutive quarters of gains--the sector was pushed into the red for the first time ever.

The Dish deficit meant that the entire publicly traded pay TV industry lost about 13,000 subscribers in the …