U.S. Pay-TV Sub Losses Slow in Q3

LONDON: The ten leading pay-TV services in the U.S. maintained more of their subscribers in the third quarter, with losses lower than anticipated, according to the informitv Multiscreen Index.

The top ten services in the U.S. that report numbers posted a total net loss of 128,400 subscribers for the quarter; four of the top ten services even reported a net increase in subscribers.

Verizon made the greatest gains, adding 42,000 FiOS video customers. AT&T lost 92,000 U-verse television subscribers. DIRECTV, now part of AT&T, added 26,000 over the quarter, but has 633,000 fewer subscribers than a year prior, as a result of a change in the way it counts commercial customers. DISH Network shed 23,000 subs, compared to a loss of 81,000 the previous quarter and 12,000 in Q3 2014. The company includes its Sling TV customers in its subscriber numbers. Comcast lost 48,000 TV customers, which is its lowest loss in the third quarter for a decade. Time Warner Cable lost 7,000, compared to a loss of 184,000 in the same quarter the previous year.

“The latest numbers suggest that television service providers in the United States are stemming subscriber losses,” said Dr. William Cooper, the editor of the informitv Multiscreen Index. “The percentage change in subscriber numbers remains relatively small. The reality is that the top four cable or satellite providers still have over 66 million television customers between them.”

“At 25.42 million television customers, the combination of DIRECTV and AT&T now exceeds the 22.26 million subscribers of Comcast,” added informitv analyst Dr. Sue Farrell. “The mature American market is further consolidating, with Altice planning to take control of Cablevision and Suddenlink.”