The 10 leading television services in the United States lost 1.79 million subscribers between them in the first quarter of 2021, as reported by the informitv Multiscreen Index. That was not quite as bad as the loss in the same quarter the previous year. They now have 72.58 million subscribers between them, which is not as many as they once had but is still a significant number of households.

AT&T lost the most television subscribers, shedding another 620,000 in the first quarter of 2021. Then again, AT&T cut the cord itself in that time, spinning out a new business under the DIRECTV name to hold its satellite, fibre and online television services. It is no longer reporting its AT&T Now TV subscribers.

Comcast lost 403,000 television subscribers, reducing its total to 18.59 million. That was its sixteenth consecutive quarterly lost, having lost 2.93 million subscribers since March 2017, reducing its total to 18.59 million.

DISH Network lost 134,000 subscribers, leaving it with 8.69 million satellite television customers and a further 96,000 Sling TV online subscribers.

Hulu Live TV, the online multichannel service, now controlled by Disney, lost 200,000 subscribers after raising its prices, ending the quarter with 3.80 million. That is slightly ahead of the telco television service Verizon Fios, which is down to 3.77 million, from a peak of 5.86 million five years previously.

The number of television subscribers in the United States has been slowly declining. Notably, even the next-generation online multichannel services are losing subscribers. Nevertheless, these 10 services still have over 70 million subscribing households between them.

multiscreenindex.com