North American cable subscriber losses are slowing down, according to Multimedia Research Group, but is forecasted to regain 2012 levels by 2017.
The cable TV market in North America continues to face challenges. Increasing competition in the pay-TV industry, as well as a stubbornly flat macroeconomic climate, has resulted in another year of subscriber losses. 2012 marked the seventh consecutive year that cable TV subscriber households decreased in North America.
However, it should be noted that there appears to be some positive news on the horizon. For the past several calendar quarters, the pace of cable subscriber losses has been slowing. While MRG expect 2013 to be another year marked by decreasing North American cable TV households, the research company believes that the total number of households lost will be much lower than in 2012.
Improving macroeconomic conditions, coupled with the development of new video service packages and features, should reduce the loss of subscribers in 2013 to less than 1 million.