LRG: Pay-TV Providers Lost 785K Subs in Q3

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DURHAM, N.H.—The biggest U.S. pay-TV providers together lost about 785,000 subscribers in the third quarter, an increase in the loss from Q3 2021 when 650,000 households dropped their subscription, according to Leichtman Research Group (LRG).

These top providers, which represent about 92% of the market, now account for 71.4 million subscribers. Of those, the top seven cable companies have about 38.6 million video subscribers. Other pay-TV services have about 24.8 million subscribers, and the top publicly reporting internet-delivered pay-TV services have more than 8 million, the research organization said.

Other Leichtman findings:

  • The top cable providers had a net loss of 980,000 video subscribers in Q3 2022 compared to a decline of 700,000 from the same quarter last year.
  • Other traditional pay-TV services had a net loss of about 700,000 for the quarter, a drop of 70,000 more subscribers compared to Q3 2021.
  • The top publicly reporting vMVPDs added about 900,000 in the quarter, up 220,000 from the same quarter last year.

“Spurred by a strong quarter from internet-delivered vMVPD services, pay-TV net losses of about 785,000 in 3Q 2022 were more modest than in the first two quarters of the year,” said Bruce Leichtman, LRG president and principal analyst. “Not including YouTube TV, which does not regularly report subscriber totals, vMVPDs had nearly 900,000 net additions in the quarter. This was the third most quarterly net adds ever for the top publicly reporting vMVPD services.”

More information is available on the research group’s website

Phil Kurz

Phil Kurz is a contributing editor to TV Tech. He has written about TV and video technology for more than 30 years and served as editor of three leading industry magazines. He earned a Bachelor of Journalism and a Master’s Degree in Journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Journalism.