The top 10 service providers in the United States collectively lost 1.52 million television subscribers in the second quarter of 2020, as reported by the informitv Multiscreen Index. 8 of the top 10 service providers in the United States that report figures lost television subscribers in the second quarter, although their combined losses were lower than in the first quarter of 2020, in which they lost a record 2.33 million. The top 10 services have lost over 10 million television subscribers between them in two years.
AT&T lost 886,000 premium television subscribers in the United States across its satellite, telco and online platforms and a further 66,000 for the AT&T TV NOW online service.
Comcast lost 427,000 television subscribers, taking its total to 19.47 million, down from 20.64 million a year previously.
Charter broke a series of quarterly television subscriber losses and increased its count by 102,000, with a total of 15.65 million, down from 15.80 million a year before.
DISH Network nominally increased its subscriber numbers by 5,000 to 9.02 million, having cut 382,000 the previous quarter. Its Sling TV online offering lost 56,000 subscribers.
Frontier lost 61,000 subscribers and with only 0.56 million dropped out of the Multiscreen Index of 100 leading service providers.
| Service | Change quarter |
Subscribers m |
|---|---|---|
| -1,521,600 | 73.14 | |
| Comcast | -427,000 | 19.47 |
| AT&T Premium TV | -886,000 | 17.69 |
| Charter Spectrum | 102,000 | 15.65 |
| DISH Network | 5,000 | 9.02 |
| Verizon FiOS | -81,000 | 3.99 |
| Altice USA | -34,600 | 3.10 |
| Sling TV | -56,000 | 2.26 |
| AT&T TV NOW | -66,000 | 0.72 | Mediacom | -17,000 | 0.68 |
| Frontier | -61,000 | 0.56 |
“The continuing quarterly loss of television subscribers in the United States is partly attributable to the coronavirus pandemic, economic conditions and the reduction in sporting events,” observed Dr William Cooper, the editor of the informitv Multiscreen Index.
“This has accelerated a long-term trend of recent years, but these services still have significant numbers of subscribers generating considerable revenue.”
The top 10 services for the United States in the Multiscreen Index now have 73.14 million television customers between them, accounting for 60% 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 approaching 450 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.