\n\tEL SEGUNDO: IHS Technology reports a surge in pay-TV subscribers in the first quarter, with a gain of 202,670, as compared with a 214,580 decline in the year-ago period.<\/p>\n
\n\tCable subscriptions, however, were down by 132,330, but IHS noted that this is the lowest number of losses since Q1 2011. For the last two years, U.S. cable subs have fallen by an average of 480,000 every quarter. For this quarter, IHS points to gains made by Comcast and slower sub losses at Time Warner Cable.<\/p>\n
\n\t“The first quarter is generally the best time of the year for the U.S. cable market, and the start of 2014 was no exception,” said Erik Brannon, senior analyst for television media at IHS. “Cable achieved its best quarter in years. However, the negative outlook for cable remains the same, as it is expected to continue to contract as AT&T’s IPTV service is anticipated to keep gobbling up subscribers. Cable’s renewed strength could be foreboding for satellite players Dish and DirecTV.”<\/p>\n
\n\tOn the DTH front, Dish and DirectTV both gained customers in the period, but the quarter was less positive for IPTV player Verizon. AT&T, meanwhile, gained 201,000 video subscribers in Q1.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe overall number of pay-TV homes is expected to remain flat overall, IHS predicts. The firm also sees momentum continuing for cable operators, at the expense of satellite and IPTV platforms.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
EL SEGUNDO: IHS Technology reports a surge in pay-TV subscribers in the first quarter, with a gain of 202,670, as compared with a 214,580 decline in the year-ago period. Cable subscriptions, however, were down by 132,330, but IHS noted that this is the lowest number of losses since Q1 2011. For the last two years, …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5715","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","","category-top-stories"],"yoast_head":"\n