Another 650,000 Pay-TV Subscribers Cut the Cord in the Third Quarter

November 19, 2021 Topic: Technology Region: Americas Blog Brand: Techland Tags: TelevisionEntertainmentPay-TVSubscriptionStreaming

Another 650,000 Pay-TV Subscribers Cut the Cord in the Third Quarter

Cable companies lost 700,000 video subscribers in the third quarter, nearly twice as many as they lost the same period the year before.

After massive numbers of people got rid of their pay-TV subscriptions when the pandemic hit in the first half of 2020, the losses were much smaller in the third quarter of last year, as the major providers in the United States lost a net of 90,000 subscribers in Q3 of 2020.  

That number was much larger in the third quarter this year.  

The top pay-TV providers in the United States lost about 650,000 net video subscribers in the third quarter of the year. The totals, which represent about 93 percent of the market, are based on earnings reports from the relevant companies, according to the quarterly report by Leichtman Research Group, Inc., which was released Thursday morning. 

Cable companies lost 700,000 video subscribers in the third quarter, nearly twice as many as they lost the same period the year before. The “other” category of satellite and telco companies lost  635,000, which was fewer than last year, while the vMVPD services that reported numbers reported a gain of 680,000 subscribers, although the sector had gained over 1 million during the third quarter last year.  

Overall, the top TV providers now have 77 million subscribers, with 41.9 million still receiving cable, 27.5 million subscribing to cable or satellite, and the vMVPDs holding 7.5 million.  

All seven of the top cable companies lost subscribers in the quarter, with Comcast losing over 400,000, Charter losing 121,000, and Cox losing 70,000. Comcast remains the top cable company with 18.5 million subscribers, while Charter is second with 15.9 million. 

LRG estimates that the now-independent DirecTV, which did not release financial results, lost about 412,000 subscribers in the quarter, while Dish Network announced that it lost about 130,000 subscribers. Verizon Fios, meanwhile, lost 68,000.  

In the vMVPD sector, meanwhile, all three major companies gained subscribers, although growth wasn’t as robust as it had been the year before.  

Hulu + Live TV added 300,000 subscribers to reach a total of 4 million, while Sling TV gained 117,000 to reach 2.55 million subscribers. Fubo TV added 262,884 to reach a total of 944,605. Alphabet, which owns YouTube TV, did not release subscriber figures in the third quarter, but an estimate put out in September by MoffettNathanson found that the service had about 4 million subscribers, which is more than Hulu + Live TV did as of the end of the second quarter. 

“While Pay-TV net losses in the quarter increased from last year’s third quarter, annual net losses were relatively similar to a year ago,” Bruce Leichtman, president and principal analyst for Leichtman Research Group, Inc., said in the announcement. “Over the past year, top pay-TV providers had a net loss of about 5,100,000 subscribers, compared to a loss of about 4,820,000 over the prior year.” 

Stephen Silver, a technology writer for the National Interest, is a journalist, essayist and film critic, who is also a contributor to The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philly Voice, Philadelphia Weekly, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Living Life Fearless, Backstage magazine, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. Follow him on Twitter at @StephenSilver. 

Image: Reuters