Amidst shrinking numbers, Dish Network chief Charlie Ergen isn’t sugar coating anything. He’s concerned about the long-term fate of the company’s core subscription TV business and sees cord-cutting as a growing trend. Dish’s recent earnings plunge was largely because of a $700 million settlement with Cablevision in October, along with rising programming costs. Even so, his biggest concern is how younger consumers are taking in content.

“I think cord-cutting is here to stay and will accelerate over time,” he said, especially as monthly TV bills increase for consumers. “The younger generation sits down to watch something that is entertainment to them. It’s not always network TV or cable channels any more. It can be Amazon, Netflix, YouTube or whatever else they search for. That’s why I think our core business is a mature business.”

The company’s subscriber gains were below expectations “with a net addition of 89,000 customers, including 14,000 in the fourth quarter, after a net loss of about 166,000 pay TV subscribers in 2011,” details Variety. “Dish ended the year with 14.05 million subs.”

And the company’s involved in another lawsuit, this one with major broadcasters regarding features on its Hopper DVR.

Ergen and other executives at Dish emphasize the company’s desire to get into wireless broadband service, even as some of their efforts stall or come at a slow pace. Dish is currently battling Sprint to buy Clearwire and “the slow pace of expanding Dish’s wireless network — hampered also by regulatory delays at the FCC in approving Dish’s request to use its spectrum for wireless — has impacted its ability to revamp Blockbuster, the former homevid giant that Dish acquired out of bankruptcy in 2011. The initial plan was to transform Blockbuster stores into outlets selling wireless products, including packages of video programming.”