The number of subscribers to traditional pay television packages in the United States is forecast to fall from 88.08 million in 2019 to 81.50 million in 2024. The United States will lose 3 million television subscribers in 2019 but the rate of annual losses is expected to slow.
“Despite the overall falls, cord-cutting is slowing,” said Simon Murray of Digital TV Research.
The largest subscriber losses will be to satellite television, which the firm forecasts will lose 3.45 million between 2019 and 2024. That is a 12.5% reduction, although the two main satellite companies will still have 24.11 million subscribers between them.
Cable companies are forecast to see a further fall of 2.22 million over the same period, which is a reduction of 4.3%, taking them down to 49.07 million.
Telco television will lose 0.9 million subscribers, although that is 9.9% of their base, leaving them with 8.32 million, down from a peak to 12.56 million in 2014.
That makes a total loss of 6.58 million television subscribers, or a reduction of 7.5%. It still leaves 81.50 million traditional television subscribers in the United States in 2024, which suggests a gradual decline rather than a precipitous fall.
Gaining from this will be homes receiving over the air television broadcasts, which Digital TV Research forecasts will increase by 7.29 million or 24.8% to 36.65 million by 2024. That will be more homes than subscribe to satellite and telco services combined.
The number of homes in the United States that do not have a television set is also forecast to increase from 1.27 million in 2010 to 9.49 million in 2024.
Digital TV Research forecasts that annual pay television revenue will have declined by 29% or $30 billion from its peak in 2015 to 2024, although it will still be worth over $75 billion.