Leichtman Research Group has found that the largest pay-TV providers in the US – representing about 93% of the market – lost about 650,000 net video subscribers in 3Q 2021.
This compares to a pro forma net loss of about 90,000 in 3Q 2020. The top pay-TV providers now account for about 77 million subscribers – with the top seven cable companies having 41.9 million video subscribers, other traditional pay-TV services having over 27.5 million subscribers, and the top publicly reporting Internet-delivered (vMVPD) pay-TV services having 7.5 million subscribers.
Key findings for the quarter include:
– Top cable providers had a net loss of about 700,000 video subscribers in 3Q 2021 – compared to a loss of about 380,000 subscribers in 3Q 2020
– Other traditional pay-TV services had a net loss of about 635,000 subscribers in 3Q 2021 – compared to a loss of about 780,000 subscribers in 3Q 2020
– Top publicly reporting vMVPDs added about 680,000 subscribers in 3Q 2021 – compared to a gain of about 1,070,000 subscribers in 3Q 2020
“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,” said Bruce Leichtman, president and principal analyst for Leichtman Research Group.
“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.”
