TelecomTV TelecomTV
  • News
  • Videos
  • Channels
  • Events
  • Directory
  • Smart Studio
  • Surveys
  • Debates
  • Perspectives
  • DSP Leaders World Forum
  • DSP Leaders
  • Great Telco Debate
    • |
    • Follow
    • |
    • Subscribe
  • |
  • More
  • Webcasts
  • Surveys
  • Debates
  • Perspectives
  • Great Telco Debate
  • |
  • Follow TelecomTV
  • |
    • Subscribe
    • |
  • About
  • Privacy
  • Help
  • Contact
  • Follow TelecomTV
  • About
  • Privacy
  • Help
  • Contact
  • Sign In Register Subscribe
    • Subscribe
    • Sign In
    • Register
  • Search

Video

Video

North American PayTV numbers on the way down?

Ian Scales
By Ian Scales

Aug 21, 2015

via Flickr © dullhunk (CC BY 2.0)

via Flickr © dullhunk (CC BY 2.0)

  • Pay TV subscriber numbers inch down, but ARPU inches up
  • OTT services may be the saviour

More a gentle slope than a cliff, but whatever it is, digital television operators in North America are falling slowly off it. In what Strategy Analytics calls a reversal of fortune, service providers in both the US and Canada posted subscriber losses in the latest quarter - a decline, says Strategy Analytics, which is at the highest rate it has seen so far.

The Strategy Analytics Service Provider Strategies (SPS) service report, “Digital Television Operator Performance Benchmarking: North America,” shows the top twenty tracked operators in the US (accounting for more than 95 per cent of the total market) saw subscriber losses of 479,000 while the operators in Canada lost 53,000 customers.  Digital TV subscriptions in the US also fell by 62,000 and in Canada by 9,000.

Video ARPU for Selected US Pay TV Operators – 2Q14 to 2Q15

 

2Q14

3Q14

4Q14

1Q15

2Q15

Y-o-Y %

DirecTV

$103.26

$107.27

$117.30

$105.62

$109.93

6.5%

Charter

$88.81

$88.93

$90.87

$90.62

$92.88

4.6%

Dish Network

$84.15

$84.39

$84.17

$85.74

$87.91

4.5%

Time Warner Cable

$76.43

$76.39

$76.08

$76.26

$77.50

1.4%

Source: Strategy Analytics Digital Television Operator Performance Benchmarking: North America 2Q15

 

Subscribers down, ARPU up

However, the analysts point out that while subscriber numbers do tend to go up and down, the average revenue per user (ARPU) is always on an upward trajectory.  So for instance, in the second quarter Dish Network lost 81,000 subscribers even after accounting for growth in the company’s new OTT service, Sling TV.  But at the same time, Dish’s Video ARPU increased by 2.5 per cent  quarter-over-quarter and 4.5 per cent  year-over-year. Similar increases were reported by DirecTV, Charter, and Time Warner Cable.

“The subscriber losses in the second quarter were across all of the Pay TV platforms, including cable, satellite, and IPTV.  However, going forward, we believe there are clear opportunities for the Pay TV providers as they begin to roll out over-the-top (OTT) video services similar to Dish Network’s Sling TV offering,” the press release has Jason Blackwell, Director of the Service Provider Strategies service (SPS) at Strategy Analytics, saying.

“Verizon will debut its OTT service this year, along with Comcast and CenturyLink.  Although nothing has been announced, AT&T (with its DirecTV acquisition) is predicted to roll out an OTT video service, and the company is uniquely positioned to tie that into a variety of nationwide bundles that could also include fixed or mobile broadband, satellite TV, and wireless phone service.”

Related Topics
  • Analysis & Opinion,
  • News,
  • OTT,
  • Strategy Analytics,
  • Video

More Like This

5G

What’s up with… Deutsche Telekom, AT&T, 5G in Brazil

Feb 26, 2021

Digital Platforms & Services

Australia’s Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code has landed

Feb 26, 2021

Digital Platforms & Services

Users of mobile video calling reached 1.8 billion in 2020, growing by 600 million globally

Feb 15, 2021

Coronavirus

Are we seeing the rise of the Zoomtown?

Feb 5, 2021

Policy & Regulation

It's Google and Facebook v. The Lucky Country

Jan 22, 2021

Email Newsletters

Stay up to date with the latest industry developments: sign up to receive TelecomTV's top news and videos plus exclusive subscriber-only content direct to your inbox – including our daily news briefing and weekly wrap.

Subscribe

Top Picks

Highlights of our content from across TelecomTV today

On-demand Workshop: How to build your cloud native 5G core platform

16:48

The case for mmWave in 5G networks

25:55

The Private Mobility Opportunity for Enterprises

12:04

VMware learnings from DISH 5G rollout

  • TelecomTV
  • Decisive Media

TelecomTV is produced by the team at Decisive Media

Menu
  • News
  • Videos
  • Channels
  • Directory
  • Smart Studio
 
  • Surveys
  • Debates
  • Perspectives
  • Events
  • About Us
Our Brands
  • TelecomTV Tracker
  • TelecomTV Perspectives
  • DSP Leaders
  • DSP Leaders World Forum
  • The Great Telco Debate
Get In Touch
[email protected]
+44 (0) 207 448 1070

Request a Media Pack

Follow
  • © Decisive Media Limited 2021. All rights reserved. All brands and products are the trademarks of their respective holder(s).
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Legal Notices