Kagan Releases Second Quarter U.S. Multichannel Subscriber Report

At 976,000 U.S. pay TV subscriber losses come in better than expected in second quarter

News provided by

Aug 15, 2017, 18:02 ET

MONTEREY, Calif., Aug. 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The legacy multichannel universe lost a record number of customers in the quarter ended June 30, 2017, but managed to keep the decline below the symbolic 1-million threshold. At the mid-year mark, however, the trajectory continues to point to an unprecedented annual decline according to data compiled by Kagan, a group within S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Overall, traditional multichannel subscriptions dropped below 96.1 million in the second quarter, down 1.8 million since year-end 2016. Adding the top two virtual service providers (VSPs) affiliated with legacy multichannel distributors –DISH Network's Sling TV and AT&T's DIRECTV NOW – lifts the combined total subscriptions to a package of live linear channels and on-demand content to 98 million.

Additional takeaways from Kagan's 2^nd-quarter U.S. Multichannel Subscriber report:

Cable operators lost 246,000 total video customers. Following the sizable first-quarter drop, total losses at the mid-year mark are up 55.6% annually.
Traditional satellite services took a hit in the second quarter, posting an estimated net loss of 443,000 subscriptions to retreat below the 33 million threshold for the first time since 2010.
Total traditional video subs on the telco platform dropped to 10.9 million, declining 10.9% annually. With AT&T emphasizing DIRECTV as its primary delivery platform, U-verse accounted for two thirds of the decline.
Based on figures compiled from U.S. Census reports, a calculated 75.8% of the potential residential universe subscribe to a legacy multichannel product in the second-quarter.

About S&P Global Market Intelligence

At S&P Global Market Intelligence, we know that not all information is important—some of it is vital. Accurate, deep and insightful. We integrate financial and industry data, research and news into tools that help track performance, generate alpha, identify investment ideas, understand competitive and industry dynamics, perform valuations and assess credit risk. Investment professionals, government agencies, corporations and universities globally can gain the intelligence essential to making business and financial decisions with conviction.

S&P Global Market Intelligence a division of S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI), provides essential intelligence for individuals, companies and governments to make decisions with confidence. For more information, visit www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence.

SOURCE S&P Global Market Intelligence