Satellite again suffered the greatest losses as the number of subscribers to television service providers In the United States fell by 1.28 million in the first quarter of the year.
The informitv Multiscreen Index reports AT&T now sits at the top of the table with 22.36 million premium television subscribers following the combination of numbers from DIRECTV and AT&T U-verse.
However, It also sustained the greatest subscriber losses, shedding 544,000 premium customers, and a further 89,000 from its DIRECTV NOW online offering. DISH Network lost a further 259,000 television subscribers.
“There were losses across the top 10 television services in the United States, with even the DIRECTV NOW online service losing customers following previous heavy promotion. Between them, they lost over one-and-a-quarter million subscribers in three months. They still command a significant number of customers but the rate of attrition has increased,” observed Dr William Cooper, the editor of the informitv Multiscreen Index.
Altice USA also consolidated the reporting of its Optimum and Suddenlink operations, with a combined loss of 10,200 television subscribers, compared to 15,300 the previous quarter, for a total of 3.30 million.
Comcast cable television customers declined 107,000, compared to 19,000 the previous quarter, marking its eighth consecutive quarterly loss, down 358,000 year on year to 20.85 million.
DISH Network lost 266,000 satellite television subscribers, compared to 381,000 the previous quarter, making a loss of 1.21 million in 12 months. Sling TV gained 7,000 online subscribers, with a total of 2.42 million, so total television subscribers were 12.06 million, down by 259,000.
The top 10 services for the United States in the Multiscreen Index now have 81.90 million television customers between them, accounting for slightly less than 70% of television homes.
