According to the Leichtman Research Group, the largest pay TV providers in the United States - representing about 95% of the market - lost about 795,000 net video subscribers in 2016, compared to a pro forma loss of about 445,000 subscribers in 2015.
The top pay TV providers account for 93.6 million subscribers, with the top six cable companies having more than 48.6 million video subscribers, satellite TV services about 33.5 million, the top telephone companies 10.1 million, and the top Internet-delivered pay TV services having about 1.4 million subscribers.
Other findings indicate:
- The top six cable companies lost about 280,000 video subscribers in 2016, compared to a loss of about 410,000 subscribers in 2015 and 1,200,000 in 2014. Losses for the top cable providers were the fewest in any year since 2006 (the year telcos introduced video services).
- Satellite TV services added about 190,000 subscribers in 2016, compared to a loss of about 450,000 subscribers in 2015. DirecTV added 1,228,000 subscribers in 2016, compared to 167,000 net adds in 2015.
- The top telephone providers lost 1,555,000 video subscribers in 2016, compared to a loss of about 120,000 in 2015 and a gain of about 1,065,000 subscribers in 2014. U-verse lost 1,359,000 subscribers in 2016 (largely due to AT&T's focus on higher margin DirecTV subscribers), compared to a loss of about 300,000 subscribers in 2015.
- Internet-delivered services (Sling TV and DirecTV NOW) added about 845,000 subscribers in 2016, compared to about 535,000 net adds in 2015. Traditional pay TV services (not including Internet-delivered services) lost about 1,640,000 subscribers in 2016, compared to a loss of about 980,000 in 2015.
- In 4Q 2016, the top pay TV providers added about 140,000 subscribers, similar to about 145,000 net adds in 4Q 2015. Traditional pay TV services lost about 330,000 subscribers in 4Q 2016, compared to a small gain of about 1,000 in 4Q 2015.
"The pay TV market has seen significant change in the past two years, with the introduction of Internet-delivered services, and share shifts among traditional providers that are driven as much by providers' decisions as by changes in consumer demand," said Bruce Leichtman, president and principal analyst for LRG. "When analyzing the pay TV market, it is now essential to include Internet-delivered services as part of the industry, just as it was important to include satellite and telco services when those new forms of delivery were introduced."