The largest pay TV providers in the United States – representing about 96% of the market – lost about 2.215.000 net video subscribers in the first quarter of 2023, compared to a pro forma net loss of about 1.850.000 in the same period last year, according to Leichtman Research Group’s latest report.
The top pay TV providers now account for about 73.7 million subscribers – with the top seven cable companies having about 36.8 million video subscribers, other traditional pay TV services having 23.4 million subscribers, and the top Internet-delivered (vMVPD) pay-TV services (now including an estimate for YouTube TV) having about 13.5 million subscribers.
At the same time, the study revealed that the top cable providers had a net loss of about 1.060.000 video subscribers in the first quarter of 2023, compared to a loss of about 825.000 subscribers in the first quarter of 2022. Other traditional pay TV services had a net loss of about 760.000 subscribers in the period, while top vMVPDs had a net loss of about 395.000 subscribers.
“Pay TV net losses of about 2.2 million in the first quarter of 2023 were more than in any previous quarter. Similar to recent quarters, the record net losses appear to be as much a function of a slowdown in new connects as an increase in disconnects,” commented Bruce Leichtman, president and principal analyst for Leichtman Research Group, Inc.
