And yet, this FCC is trying to get more DBS systems out there.
Sign of the times, years belated IMO, is that now both NBC and CBS (maybe
others too, but those for sure), when they advertise their shows during ad
breaks, they provide the day and time for the linear broadcast, and they also
say "or stream anytime on demand."
And, depending how vMVPD is defined by them, it's not too surprising if the
rigid MVPD concept is losing subscribers, whether "v" or otherwise. Looks like
vMVPD subscriptions are not making up for MVPD losses. All of this, while TV
shows are being watched as much as ever. Probably more so, I'd suspect, given
how much more convenient it has become.
Bert
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https://www.tvtechnology.com/news/rate-of-cord-cutting-grows-as-pay-tv-continues-to-shed-subscribers
Rate of Cord-Cutting Grows as Pay-TV Continues to Shed Subscribers
Tom Butts
Nov 13, 2018
Multichannel sectors lost more than a million video subscribers in Q3 2018,
according to researchers
MONTEREY, CA-Cable and satellite TV providers continue to shed subscribers as
the rate of cord-cutting accelerate in the third quarter, according to several
new research reports.
According to MoffettNathanson, more than 1 million viewers severed their
subscriptions to cable and satellite TV services in Q3, the most ever in a
quarterly earnings period. The four largest U.S. pay-TV providers--AT&T
(DirecTV), Comcast, DISH and Charter lost 887,000 subscribers in the quarter,
with the satellite TV providers taking the brunt of the loss.
Media Research firm Kagan released similar figures, noting that cable lost 1.1
million subscribers year-to-date so far, their worst performance at the
three-quarter mark since 2014. Satellite providers lost 726,000 subscribers in
Q3 and traditional telco subscriptions fell by 94,000, with Verizon alone
shedding 63,000 subs alone during Q3. The current number of multichannel video
program subscribers stands at 91 million, including 88.2 million residential
customers, according to Kagan.
Kagan's quarterly analysis now includes total virtual multichannel
subscriptions from services such as Sling TV, DirecTV Now, Hulu with Live TV,
YouTube TV and PlayStation Vue. The combined virtual platforms gained an
estimated 2.1 million subs in the trailing 9 months, compared a decline of 2.8
million in the traditional segment.
Leichtman Research Group reported a loss of approximately 975,000 subscribers
for the pay-TV market in Q3 compared to a pro forma loss of 410,000 in Q3 2017.
Among "skinny bundles," LRG focused on those provided by AT&T/DirecTV and DISH,
noting that its Sling TV and DIRECTV NOW services added only 75,000 subscribers
in Q3, compared to about 530,000 net adds in Q3 2017. This was the fewest in
any quarter since their debut.
Bruce Leichtman, president and principal analyst for Leichtman Research Group,
Inc. noted the danger such trends mean for DBS providers in particular.
"Satellite TV services had more combined net losses in 3Q 2018 than in any
previous quarter," he said. "These net losses were largely driven by corporate
strategies focused on acquiring and retaining more profitable subscribers (as
well as a programming carriage issue between DISH and Univision). A related
emphasis on improving the profitability of the satellite TV company's
Internet-delivered flanker brands reduced net quarterly adds in the segment,
resulting in vMVPDs not helping to mitigate overall pay-TV losses to the degree
they had in recent quarter
In addition to lost subscription revenues, cord-cutting is hitting pay-TV's
advertising base as well. eMarketer recently downgraded its TV ad revenue
estimates for 2018, decreasing the rate of growth to just .5 percent to $71.65
billion, down from the previously estimated $72.72 billion. eMarketer predicts
that TV's share of total media ad spending in the US will drop to 34.9 percent,
and is expected to fall below 30 percent by 2021.
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