Reflecting other similar surveys, research from Leichtman Research Group has found that the 13 largest pay-TV providers in the US lost about 125,000 net video subscribers in 2014.
The leading firms represent about 95% of the country's market with 95.2 million customers, and the net pay-TV losses in 2014 were noticeably, if not markedly, worse than in 2013 when 95,000 subscribers were lost.
Right now the top nine cable companies have 49.3 million video subscribers, despite losing about 1,195,000 video subs in 2014. Satellite TV companies have 34.3 million, up 20,000; and the two top telcos 11.6 million, adding just over a million new people.
"2014 marked the second consecutive year for pay-TV industry net losses, but the losses remained modest again this year," said Bruce Leichtman, president and principal analyst for Leichtman Research Group. "Despite a relatively saturated market, and increasing alternatives for consumers to watch video, the top pay-TV providers have only lost about 0.2% of all subscribers over the past two years."
