Dish has added 150,000 subscribers in current qtr

* Now has more than 14 million subscribers

* Pay-TV provider surprised with net subscriber gains in Q3

NEW YORK Dec 10 (Reuters) - Satellite TV provider Dish Network Corp (DISH.O) has added more than 150,000 customers in the current quarter, boosting its total past 14 million, the company said on Thursday.

Dish Network is the third-largest U.S. pay-TV provider, after cable company Comcast Corp (CMCSA.O), which has 23.8 million subscribers, and rival satellite TV provider DirecTV Group (DTV.O), which has 18.4 million.

Dish Network went through a period of customer losses earlier this year after years of growth. The company was hit by the loss of its lucrative joint marketing partnership with AT&T Inc (T.N) and other operational challenges.

The Englewood, Colorado, company came close to losing the No. 3 spot to Time Warner Cable Inc (TWC.N), which has 13 million subscribers.

Founder and Chief Executive Charlie Ergen has said recently that the company is focused on reversing the tide. Last quarter it added 241,000 net subscribers, beating analyst expectations for net customer losses.

Shares in Dish rose 2.4 percent, or 51 cents, to $21.64 in Nasdaq midday trading. (Reporting by Yinka Adegoke; editing by John Wallace)