Third quarter analysis by SNL Kagan indicates that cable did better in easing video subscriber losses, and direct broadcast satellite (DBS) actually ended in positive territory, but telcos’ video numbers dragged in particular.
If you bundle cable, DBS and telco operators together, they lost approximately 430,000 video subscribers in Q3 2016, according to estimates by the research firm. Notably, that third-quarter drop means that the multichannel segment is down 1.3 million customers total in 2016, which SNL Kagan says is the largest ever decline through the first nine months of a year.
According to “SNL Kagan’s 3rd-quarter U.S. Multichannel Subscriber” report, cable operators shed 94,000 video customers, but that’s actually the best Q3 performance since 2006. SNL Kagan says that for the nine months ended Sept. 30, the cable sector cut the 2015 decline in half. This is the industry’s best results since 2007 for that interval, the research firm points out.
AT&T’s move away from U-verse toward DirecTV looks like it could potentially lead to video gains for the year for satellite, SNL Kagan notes. According to the report estimates, DBS gained 46,000 subs for Q3.
“The planned wind down of AT&T U-verse continues to pressure telco subscriptions, down an aggregate 382,000 in the third quarter. Year-to-date, multichannel video subscribers served by the telco segment are down nearly 1.2 million,” SNL Kagan says in a statement.
Factoring in the estimated 925,000 customers for Dish’s Sling TV, the trailing 12-month multichannel decline is reduced to 822,000, the research firm concludes.