US operators lost more than one million video customers last year

The combined US cable, direct-broadcast satellite and telecommunications sectors lost more than one million video customers in 2015, according to SNL Kagan.

The research firm’s fourth quarter Multichannel Subscriber Report claims said that the 12-month decline was more than four times the 2014 decline and marked the third consecutive overall annual drop for the industry.

“That said, the waning months of 2015 carried signs of stabilization after steep losses for the better part of the year. The industry dipped by only 15,000 total customers in the period ended Dec. 31, 2015, essentially matching the losses of fourth quarter 2014,” said SNL Kagan.

The research firm said that US multiple system cable operators lost 599,000 total video customers in 2015 – the cable sector’s best performance since 2007 – while the telco segment ended the year “essentially flat”. However, broadcast satellite shed 478,000 subscribers compared to a loss of just 39,000 in 2014.

Overall SNL said that year-end residential subscriptions dropped to 96.7 million, adding: “the residential decline was slightly more exaggerated than the total market movement, accounting for a 57,000 subscriber dip in the fourth quarter and reaching 1.1 million for the year.”