Pay-TV resists recession
March 16, 2009
According to a study by Rider Research, the economic situation hasn’t slowed growth in the U.S. pay TV market. In fact, the number of U.S. TV subscribers actually increased by 362,000 in the fourth quarter of 2008, led by the telcos with 567,000 net adds. The satellite providers added 199,000 net thanks to DIRECTV’s 301,000 increase while the cable incumbents lost 404,000 total.
According to Rider, the top three overall were Verizon with 303,000 net additions, DIRECTV with 301,000 and AT&T with 264,000. On the flipside, Comcast lost 233,000 subscribers in the fourth quarter, followed by Time Warner Cable with 197,000 and DISH Network with 102,000.
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