Dish Network Corp. Monday posted the first quarterly subscriber losses ever reported by a major U.S. satellite-TV provider. The results highlight a strategic problem that is prompting Chief Executive Charles Ergen to weigh another attempt to merge with rival DirecTV Group Inc., people familiar with the matter say.

After an unbroken string of subscriber gains since Dish Network launched its service 12 years ago, the company said that its customer base shrank by 25,000 subscribers amid a weaker-than-expected financial performance in the second quarter. The No. 2 satellite-TV service faces escalating pressure to devise a new survival strategy in the face of tough competition not just from DirecTV, but also from cable providers and telecom firms offering TV service.

Ergen thinks the environment may be more receptive for a Dish-DirecTV deal — primarily because federal regulators just signed off on a similar deal, the combination of Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. and XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc.

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