Tag: Leichtman Research Group

Leichtman: Pay-TV Lost 5.9 Million Subs as Broadband Customer Growth Cooled in 2022

U.S. pay-TV operators continue to hemorrhage subscribers as high-speed internet service subscribers also dropped, failing to fill the gap.

New data from Leichtman Research Group found that 5.9 million pay-TV subscribers discontinued service in 2022, up from 4.7 million discontinuing subs in 2021. At the same time, the number of new high-speed (or broadband) subscribers declined to 3.5 million, compared with 3.75 million new subs in 2021.

Comcast Cable led all operators with 2 million pay-TV sub losses, while Charter Communications (Spectrum) added the most broadband subs at 350,000.

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The top pay-TV providers now account for about 70.2 million subscribers — with the top seven cable companies having about 37.8 million video subscribers, other legacy pay-TV services having 24.1 million subs, and online TV services accounting for about 8.3 million combined subs.

“Fixed wireless services accounted for 90% of the net broadband additions in 2022, compared to 20% of the net adds in 2021,” analyst Brice Leichtman said in a statement. “Total broadband net adds in 2022 were slightly lower than the previous year, and down from about 5 million in 2020, but were more than in any year from 2012-2019.”

Comcast 16.1 million total subs end of 2022 (2,034,000) decline
Charter 15.1 million (686,000)
Cox 3 million (340,000)
Altice 2.4 million (293,300)
Mediacom 510,000 (62,000)
Breezeline 309,627 (37,102)
Cable One 181,500 (79,500)

 

Comcast 32.15 million total broadband subscribers 250,000 additions
Charter 30.43 million 344,000
Cox 5.56 million 30,000
Altice 4.28 million (103,300) decline
Mediacom 1.46 million 5,000
Cable One 1.06 million 14,400
Breezeline 693,781 (22,997)

Report: High-Speed Internet Service Reaching Saturation Point in U.S. Homes

A chicken in every pot has been replaced with high-speed internet service.

New consumer research from Leichtman Research Group (based on a survey of 1,910 U.S. households) found that 90% of U.S. households get an internet service at home, compared to 84% in 2017, and 74% in 2007. Broadband (or high-speed internet, accounts for 99% of households with internet service, and 89% of all households get a broadband service — an increase from 82% in 2017, and 53% in 2007.

This study also found that 90% of households use a laptop or desktop computer, an increase from 85% in 2017. Of those that use a laptop or desktop computer at home, 96% have internet service. Indeed, the two consumer electronics devices are key to household internet service. Households without a laptop or desktop computer account for 58% of all home without internet service.

“The percentage of households getting an Internet service at home, including high-speed broadband, is higher than in any previous year,” analyst Bruce Leichtman said in a statement.

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The report also found that individuals ages 65 and older account for 34% of those who do not get an internet service at home. About 56% of broadband subscribers are very satisfied (8-10 on a 1-10 scale) with their internet service, while 6% are not satisfied.

Another 44% of broadband subscribers do not know the download speed of their service — compared with 60% in 2017. About 61% reporting internet speeds of greater than 100 Mbps are very satisfied with their service, compared with 41% with speeds less than 50 Mbps, and 57% that do not know their speed

About 40% of broadband households get a bundle of services from a single provider — compared to 64% in 2017, and 78% in 2012, and 59% of adults with household internet service watch video online daily — unchanged since 2020, but up from 43% in 2017, and 17% in 2012.

“Computer usage and knowledge remain the foundation for Internet services in the home,” Leichtman said.

Leichtman: Pay-TV Operators Lost 785K Subs, Added 825K Broadband Customers in Q3

High-speed internet service is a gift that keeps on giving to pay-TV operators while video subscribers continue to decline.

New data from Leichtman Research Group found that the largest pay-TV providers in the United States — representing about 92% of the market — lost about 785,000 net video subscribers in the third quarter (ended Sept. 30), compared with a net loss of 650,000 subs in the prior-year period.

The top pay-TV providers now account for about 71.4 million subscribers — with the top seven cable companies having about 38.6 million video subscribers, other services (telecom and satellite) having about 24.8 million subs, and online services (i.e., Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV, etc.) having more than 8 million subs.

“Spurred by a strong quarter from [online TV] services, pay-TV net losses in 3Q were more modest than in the first two quarters of the year,” analyst Bruce Leichtman said in a statement. “Not including YouTube TV, which does not regularly report subscriber totals, [online TV] had nearly 900,000 net additions in the quarter. This was the third-most quarterly net adds ever for the top publicly reporting online services.”

The pay-TV subscriber losses continue to be mitigated by ongoing high-speed internet subscriber gains.

Leichtman found that the largest cable and telecom providers and fixed wireless services in the United States — representing about 96% of the market — added 825,000 net broadband subscribers in Q3, similar to a gain of about 820,000 subs a year ago.

These top broadband providers account for about 110.8 million subscribers, with top cable companies having about 75.6 million broadband subs, wireline phone companies having more than 32 million subs, and top fixed wireless services having about 3.2 million subs.

“Over the past year, fixed wireless services have accounted for nearly 80% of the approximately 3.26 million broadband subscriber additions,” Leichtman reported.

Leichtman: Near 20% Drop in U.S. Pay-TV Subs in Past 15 Years

The number of U.S. households subscribing to a pay-TV service continues to decline. New consumer research from Leichtman Research Group finds that 66% of TV households nationwide have some form of pay-TV service (cable, satellite, telecom, online TV) — down from 79% in 2017, 88% in 2012, and 85% in 2007.

About 31% of non-subscribers last had pay-TV service within the past three years, 35% had pay-TV service over three years ago, and 34% never had service. Among the latter, 52% are younger millennials, ages 18-34, compared to 27% of former pay-TV subscribers.

The report, which is based on a survey of 1,850 U.S. households, found that 73% of adults ages 45+ have a pay-TV service — compared with 57% of ages 18-44.

Notably, the more televisions a household has, the more likely it is to have pay-TV service. More than 73% of households with three or more TVs have a pay-TV service, compared with 65% with two TVs, and 52% with one TV. About 13% of pay-TV subs are likely to switch from their provider in the next six months — compared with 14% in 2020, and 13% in 2017.

“The decline in pay-TV subscribers is not solely a function of those disconnecting services, it is also related to a slowdown in those entering or reentering the category,” analyst Bruce Leichtman said in a statement. “Overall, about 10.5% of TV households last subscribed to pay-TV service in the past three years, 12% last subscribed over three years ago, and 11.5% never subscribed.”

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Leichtman: 59% of Adults Watch Video Daily on Non-TV Devices

New consumer research from Leichtman Research Group finds that 59% of adults in the U.S. watch video daily on non-TV devices, including mobile phones, home computers, tablets and e-readers — compared with 55% in 2020, 43% in 2017, and 18% in 2012.

Younger individuals are most likely to watch video on non-TV devices.  Among all ages 18-34, 83% watch video on a non-TV device daily — compared with 64% of ages 35-54, and 35% of ages 55 and above.

The data are based on a survey of 1,900 households nationwide and part of the new study, Emerging Video Services 2022. This is LRG’s 16th annual study on this topic.

Other related findings include: 51% of adults watch YouTube on a non-TV device daily — followed by news clips at 35%. Another 50% of adults watch video on a mobile phone daily — up from 44% in 2020, and 33% in 2017, About 83% of households have a subscription video on-Demand (SVOD) service from Netflix, Amazon Prime, and/or Hulu — compared with 78% in 2020, and 64% in 2017.

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Overall, 64% of U.S. households now have more than one SVOD service — compared with 55% in 2020, and 33% in 2017. And 43% of all adults stream a top SVOD service daily — compared with 40% in 2020, and 29% in 2017. When including 11 additional streaming video services, the mean number of SVOD/DTC services among all households is 3.6 — compared with 2.9 in 2020

“While non-TV devices provide the ability to watch video anywhere, the most common location for watching video on non-TV devices continues to be in the home,” analyst Bruce Leichtman said in a statement. “Eighty-two percent of those who watch video on a mobile phone, and 85% of those who watch video on a tablet or eReader, do so at home.”

Internet Service Providers Cool Q2 Broadband Sub Additions to 670,000

Pay-TV video subscriber losses continue to be high-speed internet’s gain, albeit more slowly.

New data from Leichtman Research Group found that the largest cable and wireline phone providers and fixed wireless services in the U.S. — representing about 96% of the market — acquired about 670,000 net additional broadband internet subscribers in Q2 (ended June 30), compared with a gain of about 1 million subs in in the previous year period.

These providers account for about 110 million combined subs, with top cable companies having about 75.6 million broadband subs, top wireline phone companies having about 32.2 million subs, and top fixed wireless services having about 2.2 million subs.

Leichtman found that overall broadband additions in Q2 were 67% of those last year. The top cable companies lost about 60,000 subs in the quarter compared to about 840,000 net adds last year. The top wireline phone companies lost about 85,000 total broadband subs compared to about 50,000 net adds last year.

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Wireline Telcos had about 490,000 net adds via fiber, and about 575,000 non-fiber net losses. Fixed wireless/5G home Internet services from T-Mobile and Verizon added about 815,000 subs compared to about 120,000 net adds last year.

“Over the past year, there were about 3.26 million net broadband adds, with fixed wireless services accounting for 56% of them,” senior analyst Bruce Leichtman said in a statement.

Broadband Providers Subscribers at end of Q2 2022 Net Adds in Q2 2022
Cable Companies    
Comcast 32,163,000 0
Charter 30,253,000 (21,000)
Cox 5,560,000 0
Altice 4,333,600 (39,600)
Mediacom 1,468,000 0
Cable One 1,059,000 2,000
Breezeline 717,919 (1,689)
Total Top Cable 75,554,519 (60,289)
Wireline Phone Companies    
AT&T 15,509,000 (24,000)
Verizon 7,412,000 12,000
Lumen 4,377,000 (90,000)
Frontier 2,827,000 8,000
Windstream 1,178,500 2,500
TDS^ 500,800 5,600
Consolidated 381,213 1,063
Total Top Wireline Phone 32,185,513 (84,837)
Fixed Wireless Services    
T-Mobile 1,544,000 560,000
Verizon 700,000 256,000
Total Top Fixed Wireless 2,244,000 816,000
Total Top Broadband 109,984,032 670,874

Major Pay-TV Providers Upped Q2 Subscriber Losses 56% to More Than 1.92 Million

The nation’s largest pay-TV providers — representing about 92% of the market — lost about 1.92 million net video subscribers in the second quarter (ended June 30) compared with a net loss of 1.23 million in the previous-year period, according to data from Leichtman Research Group.

The top pay-TV providers now account for about 72.2 million subscribers — with the top seven cable companies having about 39.5 million video subs, other traditional pay-TV services having about 25.5 million subs, and the top publicly reporting online TV services having about 7.2 million subs.

Leichtman found that the top cable providers had a net loss of about 950,000 video subs in Q2 compared with a loss of about 590,000 subs in Q2 2021. Other pay-TV services had a net loss of about 710,000 subs, compared with a loss of about 700,000 subs in Q2 2021.

Online TV services had a net loss of about 265,000 subs in Q2, compared with a gain of about 55,000 subs last year.

“The second quarter of 2022 marked the second-consecutive quarter with over 1.9 million net pay-TV losses,” Bruce Leichtman, president and principal analyst, said in a statement. “Over the past year, top pay-TV providers had a net loss of about 5,425,000 subs, compared to a net loss of about 4,550,000 subs over the prior year.”

Pay-TV Providers Subscribers at end of 2Q 2022 Net Adds in 2Q 2022
Cable Companies
Comcast 17,144,000 (520,000)
Charter 15,495,000 (226,000)
Cox* 3,230,000 (80,000)
Altice 2,574,200 (84,500)
Mediacom 540,000 (15,000)
Breezeline 332,312 (6,709)
Cable One 221,000 (17,000)
Total Top Cable 39,536,512 (949,209)
Other Traditional Services
DIRECTV^ 13,900,000 (400,000)
DISH TV (DBS) 7,791,000 (202,000)
Verizon Fios (Telco) 3,479,000 (87,000)
Frontier (Telco) 343,000 (20,000)
Total Top Other Traditional 25,513,000 (709,000)
Internet-Delivered (vMVPD)
Hulu + Live TV 4,000,000 (100,000)
Sling TV 2,197,000 (55,000)
fuboTV 946,735 (109,510)

 

Total Top vMVPD^^ 7,143,735 (264,510)
Total Top Providers 72,193,247 (1,922,719)

Leichtman: 46% of Adults Watch Video Daily via Connected TV Device

New consumer research from Leichtman Research Group finds that 87% of U.S. TV households have at least one internet-connected TV device, which includes Smart TVs, streaming devices (Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast or Apple TV), video game systems, and/or Blu-ray Disc players. This compares to 80% with at least one connected-TV device in 2020, 69% in 2017, and 38% in 2012.

These findings are based on a survey of 1,902 TV households in the United States.

Overall, 46% of adults in U.S. TV households watch video daily on a connected TV — compared to 40% in 2020, 25% in 2017, and 4% in 2012. Younger individuals are most likely to use connected-TV devices. Among ages 18-34, 62% watch video on a TV via a connected device daily — compared to 54% of ages 35-54, and 24% of ages 55+.

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The report also found that 71% of TV households have at least one Smart TV — up from 58% in 2020, 41% in 2017, and 11% in 2012. About 50% of all TV sets in U.S. households are Smart TVs — an increase from 39% in 2020, 24% in 2017, and 7% in 2014.

Almost 60% of TV households have at least one standalone streaming device — up from 56% in 2020, 40% in 2017, and 4% in 2012. On a daily basis, 28% of adults watch video on a TV via a standalone device, 27% via an internet-enabled smart TV app, 12% via a connected game system, and 3% via a connected Blu-ray player.

“The data in this study indicate that there are now nearly 500 million connected TV devices in U.S. TV households — up from 300 million in 2017,” analyst Bruce Leichtman said in a statement. “Along with this increase, the percent of adults in the U.S. using connected devices to watch video on a TV has significantly increased — growing from 25% to 46% in the past five years.”

Report: Pay-TV Operators Added 1 Million Broadband Subs in Q1, Down From Last Year

As pay-TV operators continue to hemorrhage video subscribers, the offsetting silver lining continues to be high-speed internet service.

New data from Leichtman Research Group found that the largest cable and wireline phone providers and fixed wireless services in the U.S. — representing about 96% of the market — acquired about 1.065 million net additional broadband internet subs in 1Q 2022, compared with a pro forma gain of about 1.12 million subs in 1Q 2021.

These broadband providers account for about 109.3 million subs, with top cable companies having about 75.6 million broadband subs, top wireline phone companies having about 32.3 million subs, and top fixed wireless services having about 1.4 million subs.

Overall, Leichtman said broadband additions in Q1 were 95% of those in the previous-year period. The top cable companies added about 480,000 subs in the quarter — 52% of the net additions for the top cable companies last year. The top wireline phone companies added about 50,000 total broadband subs — compared with about 80,000 net adds in last year.

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Meanwhile, telecoms offering broadband realized about 480,000 net adds via fiber, and about 430,000 non-fiber net losses. Fixed wireless/5G home internet services from T-Mobile and Verizon added about 530,000 subs in the quarter — compared with 110,000 net adds a year earlier.

“The distribution of net broadband additions differed from a year ago,” analyst Bruce Leichtman said in a statement. “Fixed wireless services accounted for half of the net broadband adds in the quarter, compared to about 10% of the net adds [last year].””

Broadband Providers Subscribers at end of Q1 2022 Net Adds in Q1 2022
Cable Companies    
Comcast 32.163 million 262,000
Charter 30.274 million 185,000
Cox 5.560 million 30,000
Altice 4.373 million (13,000)
Mediacom 1.468 million 5,000
Cable One 1.057 million 11,000
Breezeline 719,608 2,830
Total Top Cable 75.614 million 482,830
Wireline Phone Companies    
AT&T 15.533 million 29,000
Verizon 7.400 million 35,000
Lumen 4.470 million (49,000)
Frontier 2.819 million 20,000
Windstream 1.176 million 11,300
TDS^ 495,200 4,900
Consolidated 380,150 (850)
Total Top Wireline Phone 32.273 million 50,350
Fixed Wireless Services    
T-Mobile 984,000 338,000
Verizon 433,000 194,000
Total Top Fixed Wireless 1.417 million 532,000
Total Top Broadband 109.305 million 1.065 million

Leichtman: Pay-TV Operators Up Q1 Sub Loss to 1.95 Million

New data from the Leichtman Research Group found that the largest pay-TV providers in the U.S. — representing about 93% of the market — lost more than 1.95 million net video subscribers in the first quarter, ended March 31. That compared with a net loss of 1.91 million subs in the previous-year period.

The top pay-TV operators now account for about 74.1 million subs — with the top seven cable companies having about 40.5 million video subs, other traditional pay-TV services having 26.2 million subs, and the top publicly reporting online pay-TV services having about 7.4 million subs.

Leichtman found that the top cable providers had a net loss of about 825,000 video subs in the quarter, compared to a loss of about 780,000 subs in the same period in 2021. Other traditional pay-TV services had a net loss of about 625,000 subs, down from a loss of about 865,000 subs in 1Q 2021.

Top publicly reporting online TV platforms, such as Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV and Fubo TV, had a net loss of about 505,000 subs, compared to a loss of about 265,000 subs in 1Q 2021.

“Over the past year, top pay-TV providers had a net loss of 4.735 million subs, similar to a loss of about 4.82 million over the prior year,” Bruce Leichtman, president and principal analyst for Leichtman Research Group, said in a statement.

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Pay-TV Providers Subscribers at end of 1Q 2022 Net Adds in 1Q 2022
Cable Companies
Comcast 17.664 million (512,000)
Charter 15.721 million (112,000)
Cox 3.310 million (80,000)
Altice 2.658 million (73,600)
Mediacom 555,000 (17,000)
Breezeline 339,021 (7,708)
Cable One 238,000 (23,000)
Total Top Cable 40.485 million (825,308)
Other Traditional Services
DirecTV 14.300 million (300,000)
DISH TV (DBS) 7.993 million (228,000)
Verizon Fios (Telco) 3.566 million (78,000)
Frontier (Telco) 363,000 (17,000)
Total Top Other Traditional 26.222 million (623,000)
Internet-Delivered (vMVPD)
Hulu + Live TV 4.100 million (200,000)
Sling TV 2.252 million (234,000)
fuboTV 1.056 million (73,562)

 

Total Top Online TV 7.408 million (507,562)
Total Top Providers 74.115 million 1.955 million