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Pay TV Industry Lost 300,000 Subscribers in Second Quarter

Though TV subscriber declines had eased off the last few quarters, cable operators again lost subscriber at a faster rate during the historically slow second quarter. According to the latest data from Leichtman Research Group, the thirteen largest pay-TV providers in the US -- representing about 95% of the market -- lost about 300,000 net video subscribers in the second quarter. That's compared to a loss of about 350,000 video customers during the same quarter one year ago.

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Telco TV operators continue to gain subscribers, adding 290,000 customers on the quarter compared to 373,000 net additions one year ago.

Satellite TV providers lost 78,000 subscribers during the second quarter -- compared to a loss of 162,000 one year earlier.

The top nine cable companies lost about 510,000 video subscribers in the second quarter, which Leichtman (historically a downplayer of the cord cutting phenomenon) is quick to point out was the fewest losses in any second quarter since 2009.

"The top pay-TV providers lost about 300,000 subscribers in the traditionally weak second quarter, but cumulative net losses in 2Q 2014 were slightly fewer than in any second quarter since 2Q 2010," states Bruce Leichtman. "Over the past year, the top pay-TV providers actually had a small net gain of about 20,000 subscribers, compared to a cumulative net loss of about 70,000 subscribers over the prior year."
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raydsltech
join:2004-07-04
Concord, NC

1 recommendation

raydsltech

Member

getting tired

Getting tired of the high prices. Getting tired of not being able to watch what I want when I want to.
existenz
join:2014-02-12

existenz

Member

Re: getting tired

Popcorn Time will probably hit mainstream (like Napster did) within a year and that will hopefully force Pay TV model to change. The PayTV industry is trying to squeeze as much as they can out of an outdated biz model from the last century.
elefante72
join:2010-12-03
East Amherst, NY

elefante72

Member

Re: getting tired

Did u cancel cable? Sounds like the reasonable conclusion.

What is NOT being reported is the would be "cord-sitters" like myself. The fact that my double play (internet/TV) costs only $10 more than just internet in my mind makes it a "good" deal for us, because I may as well have 200 channels for $10 more. I save tremendous cost by using cablecard and my own infrastructure.

If CC goes away and a reasonable solution doesn't take it's place, good by cable. My family rarely watches it now.

The mega rise of cost for a large majority: FORCED SPORTS.

Even in my 2-play I have to give $3.50 for RSN (regional sports) for which I dont even know what that is, but it should be optional.

Funny thing, the LOWER package with a fraction of the channels (and no RSN) costs MORE than the one I have, so I pay.

The bottom line is that if these companies keep signing $1b dollar sports TV contracts, your cable bill IS going up.
ncbill
Premium Member
join:2007-01-23
Winston Salem, NC

ncbill

Premium Member

Re: getting tired

Here even @ promo prices, the double play (standard internet, nearly 200-odd channels) costs $60/month more than just standard internet (Time Warner).

So it's an easy decision to drop cable and just keep internet in this market.
78036364 (banned)
join:2014-05-06
USA

78036364 (banned) to raydsltech

Member

to raydsltech
said by raydsltech:

Getting tired of the high prices.

99.7% are not apparently

v6movement
@206.51.28.x

v6movement

Anon

Re: getting tired

said by 78036364:

99.7% are not apparently

The majority of the world are fools.
Bob61571
join:2008-08-08
Washington, IL

1 edit

Bob61571

Member

in 2ndQ, I moved from DirecTV to a new local fiber

CLEC Telco for a bundle. DirecTV + Frontier(for SLOW 3 MB DSL) were more expensive than the the new competitor. So, I would think that I would be included in the above #'s.

I will be doing a review once I get a normal monthly bill, but so far..so good.

I think one of the great unreported stories out there, is the growth in smaller privately owned fiber competitors.
Chubbysumo
join:2009-12-01
Duluth, MN
Ubee E31U2V1
(Software) pfSense
Netgear WNR3500L

Chubbysumo

Member

Re: in 2ndQ, I moved from DirecTV to a new local fiber

said by Bob61571:

I think one of the great unreported stories out there, is the growth in smaller fiber competitors.

Where they can grow. Here in my home state, Charter and comcast paid for a law that stopped any community fiber projects from expanding, and have had a law in place for many years that allows them to deny pole access rights or easement rights to competitors moving in(that don't have deep pockets to fight the courts and bullshit).

davidc502
join:2002-03-06
Mount Juliet, TN

davidc502

Member

Re: in 2ndQ, I moved from DirecTV to a new local fiber

said by Chubbysumo:

Where they can grow. Here in my home state, Charter and comcast paid for a law that stopped any community fiber projects from expanding, and have had a law in place for many years that allows them to deny pole access rights or easement rights to competitors moving in(that don't have deep pockets to fight the courts and bullshit).

Lest not forget that even with the above being true, said ISP's will sue the pants off of any new ISP's with frivolous lawsuits.

Doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand why the big 3 have little competition in many areas.

mr sean
Professional Infidel

join:2001-04-03
N. Absentia

mr sean to Bob61571

to Bob61571
MTCO?
silbaco
Premium Member
join:2009-08-03
USA

silbaco to Bob61571

Premium Member

to Bob61571
The industry results above only include large providers, so you would be counted as a loss.

If they included all providers, the story might be quite different. Most small providers I know of are actively expanding their services and as a result their pay tv subscriber totals are increasing, not decreasing. Individually their numbers are meaningless, but combined (there are hundreds of them) they make a large impact. Some of the larger providers probably added quite a few subscribers like Google Fiber and Centurylink (added 16k last quarter).

PlusOne
@66.249.83.x

PlusOne

Anon

Video streaming replace TV subs; but HSI costs will rise

TV subscribers will continue shrinking as people move to video streaming. But access providers will increase fees on broadband internet to make up TV pkg losses. Bet on it.

v6movement
@206.51.28.x

v6movement

Anon

Re: Video streaming replace TV subs; but HSI costs will rise

said by PlusOne :

TV subscribers will continue shrinking as people move to video streaming. But access providers will increase fees on broadband internet to make up TV pkg losses. Bet on it.

Glad it won't be an issue for me.

IPPlanMan
Holy Cable Modem Batman
join:2000-09-20
Washington, DC

IPPlanMan

Member

Matter of time...

It's a matter of time until we reach a tipping point and TV is offered on a per channel basis.

no2nascar
@74.115.237.x

no2nascar

Anon

Re: Matter of time...

If anything, just bundle ALL sports into a tier and let the rest just enjoy NORMAL tv. If they can do it with HBO, MAX, etc.. they sure as heck can do it with sports.

jgkolt
Premium Member
join:2004-02-21
Avon, OH

jgkolt

Premium Member

free laptop/tablets

Time Warner is giving free tablets/computers all in one for new subscribers which tells me their prices are too high.i thought hey its only 15 dollars more a month to get the free laptop, but they it struck me, i dont need to pay more, i actually wanted to cut cable.

mackey
Premium Member
join:2007-08-20

mackey

Premium Member

Re: free laptop/tablets

Not really. Those tablets only retail for around $200, so it's really not much different than those gift cards other providers give out.

chip89
Premium Member
join:2012-07-05
Columbia Station, OH

chip89

Premium Member

Re: free laptop/tablets

Yep my kindle fire was $199.

v6movement
@206.51.28.x

v6movement to mackey

Anon

to mackey
said by mackey:

Not really. Those tablets only retail for around $200, so it's really not much different than those gift cards other providers give out.

What it is they're giving away isn't the point.
biochemistry
Premium Member
join:2003-05-09
92361

biochemistry

Premium Member

Roku

The future is Roku and similar services. Sure the old and poor will continue to finance full cable bills on our backs through ss and welfare. However, the younger generation is moving in another direction because of the outrageous prices. As faster internet expands, there won't be a reason for a separate $100+ cable bill. Better to just buy a few channels that you actually watch.

Titus
Mr Gradenko
join:2004-06-26

Titus

Member

Re: Roku

So Roku will save the world? I'm confused.
biochemistry
Premium Member
join:2003-05-09
92361

biochemistry

Premium Member

Re: Roku

Let us get some perspective here. We are on dslreports discussing the loss of tv subscribers. No technology will save the world. I simply believe that roku may be a way to get a la carte tv and lower your tv bill. Even better? No tv and no bill.
tyrant_
Wannabe Billionaire
join:2013-07-07

tyrant_ to biochemistry

Member

to biochemistry
Poor finance full cable bills?!?! No poor people buy roku's, because they can not pay for cable. Ah the irony .
biochemistry
Premium Member
join:2003-05-09
92361

biochemistry

Premium Member

Re: Roku

Smart poor go for Roku. Your average poor person still pays $100+ for cable.

paradigmfl
join:2005-07-16

1 recommendation

paradigmfl

Member

They just stick it to internet customers instead

That's okay for them. All they do is stick it to their internet customers instead to make up for the falling TV revenue. Aren't monopolies grand?
SilentMan
join:2002-07-15
New York, NY

1 edit

SilentMan

Member

Internet Plus Over the Air TV

On the internet, Youtube specifically, I can watch almost anything of interest (documentaries, howtos, University courses, etc.) I can also watch any movie I like, mostly 720p because there're lots of sites offering those movies for free (I only have to put up with the annoying popups, just a small price to pay for watching the movie) and for sports (baseball, college and NFL football), over the air television serves me well. In fact, high definition on over the air TV is much better than on cable which has to do lots of compression to fit so many useless channels on a piece of wire. So what more do I need?

Paying for Movie channels is useless since the movie you want to see gets on Blu-ray and on DVD (which you can easily rent or buy) many months before it gets to be shown on movie channels; they also show up on the net as soon as they can be ripped.

So cable is expensive and wasteful. Who needs it.