US pay-TV operators could be beginning to stem their subscriber erosion. The 10 leading pay television services have pulled third quarter losses down to 73,000.
However informitv, which compiles the Multiscreen Index says the figure could have been greater, were it not for a change in the way DISH network calculates commercial customers.
“Mergers and acquisitions complicate direct comparisons but the overall decline was less than the 128,000 loss for third quarter of 2015 or the 663,000 in the second quarter of 2016.” said Dr William Cooper, the editor of the informitv Multiscreen Index.
DISH Network lost 116,000 subscribers, after losing 281,000 the previous quarter, but its gain of 50,000 television customers, came from the way it compiles figures from hotel and commercial accounts.
Comcast, the largest single service, added 32,000 television subscribers. It ended the quarter with 22.43 million, a year-on-year gain of 170,000.
AT&T satellite subsidiary DIRECTV gained 323,000 television customers in the United States, taking its total to 20.78 million, while its U verse telco television service conversely lost 326,000.
Optimum and Suddenlink, both now owned by Patrick Drahi’s Altice, lost 28,000 and 13,000 television customers respectively, while Mediacom lost 8,000.
