The top 10 service providers in the United States collectively lost 2.33 million television subscribers in the first quarter of 2020, as reported by the informitv Multiscreen Index. All of the top 10 service providers in the United States included in the Multiscreen Index lost television subscribers. Their combined total fell below 75 million. Two years previously the top 10 accounted for just over 84 million.
AT&T lost the most subscribers, losing 897,000 Premium TV subscribers and a further 135,000 AT&T TV NOW subscribers, for a combined loss of over a million.
DISH Network ended the first quarter with 382,000 fewer satellite television subscribers and 281,000 fewer for its Sling TV online television service.
Comcast lost 388,000 television subscribers. It was its twelfth consecutive quarterly subscriber loss, with its total falling below 20 million for the first time in almost two decades.
Verizon television subscribers declined by 84,000, marking 13 consecutive quarterly falls, taking it down to 4.07 million, from a high of 5.86 million four years previously.
Charter Spectrum lost 70,000 television subscribers, marking its ninth consecutive quarterly loss, down by over 400,000 in twelve months to 15.55 million.
Altice, Mediacom and Frontier lost 97,700 television subscribers between them in the quarter, and a total of 372,600 over twelve months.
“This is the largest quarterly loss of television subscribers in the United States we have reported to date,” noted Dr William Cooper, the editor of the informitv Multiscreen Index. “The coronavirus pandemic has contributed to this, but many service providers have been losing subscribers for some time. Notably, their newer online services are now no exception to this trend.”
“It is difficult to determine how far these losses can be attributed to economic conditions and how much to an accelerating long-term structural decline,” observed informitv analyst Dr Sue Farrell.
| Service | Change quarter |
Subscribers m |
|---|---|---|
| -2,334,700 | 74.65 | |
| Comcast | -388,000 | 19.90 |
| AT&T Premium TV | -897,000 | 18.58 |
| Charter Spectrum | -70,000 | 15.55 |
| DISH Network | -382,000 | 9.01 |
| Verizon FiOS | -84,000 | 4.07 |
| Altice USA | -41,700 | 3.14 |
| Sling TV | -281,000 | 2.31 |
| AT&T TV NOW | -135,000 | 0.78 | Mediacom | -17,000 | 0.69 |
| Frontier | -39,000 | 0.62 |
The top 10 services for the United States in the Multiscreen Index now have 74.65 million television customers between them, accounting for 62% of television homes. Subscriber numbers are as reported by service providers, rather than analyst estimates. Cox Communications is not included in the top 10 as it does not report subscriber numbers.
The Multiscreen Index comprises 100 leading multichannel television and video services that collectively account for around 440 million subscribing homes worldwide. The index provides an industry benchmark of the relative performance of television service providers against which customer gains or losses can be measured.