According to a Moffett Nathanson estimate, the third-quarter loss for the linear pay TV industry was the worst on record, with roughly 889,000 subscribers cutting the cord.
In comparison to a year ago, traditional cable, satellite, and telco distributors saw an 11.7% decline in subscribers.
The consumers quitting traditional subscriptions are not being replaced by the new virtual multichannel video programming distributors, including YouTube TV, according to Moffett Nathanson’s research. According to the equity research firm, just 21.7% of cord cutters registered for a vMVPD in the third quarter, compared to 31% a share earlier.
READ MORE: With The Rise Of Cord Cutting, Cable TV Is Dying On A Global Scale
As a result, overall linear TV fell 7.3% during the quarter, compared to a 5.6% decline the previous year.
According to Moffett Nathanson, “the picture does not suggest that a plateau in the rate of decline is coming anytime soon.”
Pay TV penetration, including vMVPDs, fell to just 54.8% of occupied households as a result of the cord-cutting, the lowest percentage since 1989.
According to Moffett-Nathanson’s estimates, YouTube TV has around 7 million subscribers, or roughly 40% of all 17.999 million vMVPD users, making it the largest vMVPD. From 16.419 a year ago to 16.910 million at the conclusion of the second quarter, that amount has increased.
YouTube TV saw a 350,000 increase in subscribers in the third quarter as a result of acquiring the NFL Sunday Ticket out-of-market package.
Since 2010, Jon has served as Broadcasting+Cable’s business editor. In addition to executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity, he concentrates on revenue-generating activities such as distribution and advertising. If there’s a chance for a dollar symbol to appear in an article, then pretty much anything goes. Prior to joining B+C, Jon worked as a journalist for The New York Post, TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, and Advertising Age. Jon is a native New Yorker who lives in the Chicago suburbs and stays hidden.
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