Multichannel subscriptions in the US took a more decisive direction in the second quarter, producing the largest loss to date amid growing fears of cord cutting. SNL Kagan estimates the US cable, DBS and telco platforms collectively shed more than 600,000 video subscribers in the three months ended June 30, falling to 100.4 million combined residential and commercial subs at mid-year. The second-quarter losses were the product of a dramatic softening in the telco video sector, combined with an accelerated drop in DBS subscribers along with cables persistent decline. While cable sub losses slowed, they remain by far the greatest source of downward pressure on multichannel subscriptions. Speculation swirls around the decline in DISH Network subscribers coinciding with the promotion of the providers alternative Sling TV OTT offering, but the estimated loss from DISH was compounded by a decline at DIRECTV to drive the satellite total lower.Cables basic-subscriber losses, at 350,000, came in at their lowest level since 2008, when the segment shed 211,000 basic video customers in the seasonally weak period. The DBS segment lost an estimated 304,000 subscribers, as DIRECTV and DISH Network both reported record declines.
SNL Kagan: U.S. TV station owners’ retrans fees expected to reach US$9.3 billion by 2020
SNL Kagan report: OTT substitution forecast to erode multichannel subs
