Research: US Q3 pay-TV losses “more modest”
November 15, 2022
Findings from Leichtman Research Group indicate that the largest pay-TV providers in the US – representing about 92 per cent of the market – lost about 785,000 net video subscribers in Q3 2022, compared to a pro forma net loss of 650,000 in Q3 2021.
The top pay-TV providers now account for about 71.4 million subscribers – with the top seven cable companies having about 38.6 million video subscribers, other traditional pay-TV services having about 24.8 million subscribers, and the top publicly reporting Internet-delivered (vMVPD) pay-TV services having over 8 million subscribers.
Key findings for the quarter include:
- Top cable providers had a net loss of about 980,000 video subscribers in Q3 2022 – compared to a loss of about 700,000 subscribers in Q3 2021
- Other traditional pay-TV services had a net loss of about 700,000 subscribers in Q3 2022 – compared to a loss of about 630,000 subscribers in Q3 2021
- Top publicly reporting vMVPDs added about 900,000 subscribers in Q3 2022 – compared to a gain of about 680,000 subscribers in Q3 2021
“Spurred by a strong quarter from Internet-delivered vMVPD services, pay-TV net losses of about 785,000 in Q3 2022 were more modest than in the first two quarters of the year,” said Bruce Leichtman, president and principal analyst for Leichtman Research Group. “Not including YouTube TV, which does not regularly report subscriber totals, vMVPDs had nearly 900,000 net additions in the quarter. This was the third most quarterly net adds ever for the top publicly reporting vMVPD services.”
| Pay-TV Providers | Subscribers at end of Q3 2022 | Net Adds in Q3 2022 |
| Cable Companies | ||
| Comcast | 16,582,000 | (562,000) |
| Charter | 15,291,000 | (204,000) |
| Cox* | 3,140,000 | (90,000) |
| Altice | 2,491,800 | (82,400) |
| Mediacom* | 525,000 | (15,000) |
| Breezeline** | 323,038 | (9,274) |
| Cable One** | 202,000 | (19,000) |
| Total Top Cable | 38,554,838 | (981,674) |
| Other Traditional Services | ||
| DirecTV^ | 13,500,000 | (400,000) |
| DISH TV (DBS) | 7,607,000 | (184,000) |
| Verizon Fios (Telco) | 3,383,000 | (96,000) |
| Frontier (Telco)* | 322,000 | (21,000) |
| Total Top Other Traditional | 24,812,000 | (701,000) |
| Internet-Delivered (vMVPD) | ||
| Hulu + Live TV | 4,400,000 | 400,000 |
| Sling TV | 2,411,000 | 214,000 |
| fuboTV | 1,231,000 | 284,265 |
| Total Top vMVPD^^ | 8,042,000 | 898,265 |
| Total Top Providers | 71,408,838 | (784,409) |
Sources: The Companies and Leichtman Research Group, Inc.
* LRG estimate
** LRG estimate of pro forma net adds
^ LRG estimate, includes DirecTV, U-verse, and DirecTV Stream
^^ List does not include YouTube TV or Philo, as neither regularly report results. YouTube noted in a blog post that the TV service had “5 million subscribers and triallers” at the end of June 2022.
Company subscriber counts may not solely represent residential households
Top pay-TV providers represent approximately 92 per cent of all subscribers
Net additions reflect pro forma results from system sales and acquisitions, reporting adjustments, and changes to the list of top providers – therefore, comparing totals in this release to prior releases will not produce accurate findings