Research: US cord-cutting rolls on
January 6, 2022
MoffettNathanson research shows that, while in Q3 2021 the absolute number of US subscribers cutting the cord began to moderate, the percentage decline rose to 8.8 per cent.
The analyst calculated that total traditional subscribers fell by 1.61 million in Q3. The company also noted that fewer subscribers churning out were recaptured by virtual MVPDs, less than a third of traditional video subscribers were recaptured by these platforms.
The net result was that total pay-TV distribution in the US was down 5.2 per cent year-on-year in the third quarter, a worsening relative to the decline rates of the past year.
MoffettNathanson found cable losses continuing to worsen while satellite losses moderated to a degree. Overall, satellite was losing pay-TV subscribers at roughly twice the rate of cable which itself recorded its fastest decline in Q3 2021, 6.2 per cent. Satellite’s 12 per cent fall was actually a two-percentage point improvement of the rate of decline in Q3 2020.