With every passing quarter, however, that behavior becomes less of a bogeyman and more of a painful reality — and the latest survey of
cable subscriber numbers has a little something for both sides of that debate.
Not exact matches
Comcast may have added
subscribers overall, but its NBCUniversal unit reported some weakness in
subscriber numbers, saying growth in revenue was «partially offset by a decline in
subscribers at our
cable networks.»
According to a report by Jefferies, Netflix utilizes social media more effectively than
cable television, which may drive
subscriber numbers.
An increasing
number of
subscribers are re-evaluating their expensive
cable packages as a result.
After companies from
cable giant Comcast to satellite TV titan AT&T, which owns DirecTV, reported their fourth quarter results, the total
number of pay TV
subscribers dropped 3.4 % from a year earlier, the highest rate of decline since the trend of cord cutting emerged in 2010, analysts at MoffettNathanson Research reported on Thursday.
As growing
numbers of TV watchers either cut the cord entirely or opt for what
cable providers like to call «skinny bundles,» ESPN's iron grip on viewers and
subscribers is being questioned in a way it never has in the past.
As Karl Bode at DSL Reports put it in his brief analysis of the latest MoffettNathanson
numbers: «The bad news for
cable is the majority of them continue the slow trickling loss of
subscribers that, unless you work somewhere in the
cable ecosystem with your head buried in the sand, nobody believes is going to stop any time soon.»
Cable sports giant ESPN's struggles in recent years have been well - documented, with the Walt Disney - owned network shedding more than 12 million
subscribers in the past six years as the
number of cord - cutters has ticked upwards and
cable providers have started offering slimmer bundles that don't always include ESPN.
Disney CEO Bob Iger confirmed that ESPN has lost a relatively small but nonetheless significant
number of
subscribers, resulting in smaller - than - expected profits from Disney's
cable channels business.
Additionally, the strength of Comcast and its 25 - plus million TV and internet
subscribers inked a partnership with Cox and Charter Communications, the
number - two and three names in
cable and internet provisions, to fortify a pipeline for advanced TV measurement.
Comcast reader feedback 133 Share this story As streaming video continues to chip away at
cable television
subscriber numbers, Comcast is making a few of its information superhighway pace increases available simplest to customers that pay for each information superhighway and video carrier.
Competitive pressure from
cable and the increasing
number of over-the-top video alternatives resulted in a decline in video
subscribers, CFO John Stephens noted during AT&T's first - quarter investor call.