informitv: Top U.S. Pay-TV Services Lost 781,000 Subs in 2015

LONDON: The six leading pay-TV services in the U.S. gained 125,000 subscribers overall in the last quarter of 2015, but collectively shed 781,000 subs over the year, according to informitv’s Multiscreen Index.

While four of the five leading services lost television subscribers over the year, only two reported subscriber losses in the last quarter of 2015.

DIRECTV, now part of AT&T, gained 214,000 TV subscribers in the U.S., while AT&T U-verse lost 240,000. The two services now have almost 29 million television customers between them. Comcast now has 22.35 million television subscribers, gaining 89,000 in the last quarter, although it was down by 36,000 over the year. DISH Network lost 12,000 in the quarter and 81,000 over the year. That took its total, including Sling TV customers, to 13.9 million. Time Warner Cable added 54,000 video customers in the last quarter and 32,000 over the year, halting a long-term decline. It ended the year with 10.82 million video customers. Verizon added 20,000 Fios television customers, up 178,000 over the year to 5.83 million, overtaking AT&T U-verse.

“The leading services in the United States gained television customers overall in the last quarter of 2015,” said Dr. William Cooper, the editor of the informitv Multiscreen Index. “Although they lost television customers over the year, they appear to be reducing the rate of loss.”

“With a number of companies still to report, the Multiscreen Index again shows worldwide subscriber gains, notably in India,” added informitv analyst Dr. Sue Farrell. “The index is currently up by over 5 million subscribers in the last quarter.”