Top U.S. TV Service Providers Shed 1.52 Million Subs in Q2

The latest informitv Multiscreen Index shows that the top ten service providers in the U.S. collectively lost 1.52 million TV subscribers in the second quarter of 2020.

Eight of the top ten service providers in the U.S. that report figures lost television subscribers in the second quarter, although their combined losses were lower than in the first quarter of 2020, in which they lost a record 2.33 million. The top ten services have lost over 10 million television subscribers between them in two years. The top ten services for the U.S. in the Multiscreen Index now have 73.14 million television customers between them, accounting for 60 percent of television homes.

AT&T shed 886,000 premium TV subscribers in the U.S. across its satellite, telco and online platforms and a further 66,000 for the AT&T TV NOW online service.

Comcast lost 427,000 TV subs, taking its total to 19.47 million, down from 20.64 million a year previously.

Charter broke a series of quarterly TV subscriber losses and increased its count by 102,000, with a total of 15.65 million, down from 15.80 million a year before.

DISH Network increased its subscriber numbers by 5,000 to 9.02 million, having cut 382,000 the previous quarter. Its Sling TV online offering lost 56,000 subscribers.

Frontier shed 61,000 subscribers and with only 0.56 million dropped out of the Multiscreen Index of 100 leading service providers.

The continuing quarterly loss of television subscribers in the United States is partly attributable to the coronavirus pandemic, economic conditions and the reduction in sporting events,” said Dr. William Cooper, the editor of the informitv Multiscreen Index. “This has accelerated a long-term trend of recent years, but these services still have significant numbers of subscribers generating considerable revenue.”