Scalper1 News
A quarter of a million U.S. households dumped their pay-TV service last year, providing evidence that cord cutting is a real trend. In 2013, the U.S. multichannel video business posted its first ever full-year decline in subscriptions, research firm SNL Kagan reported Wednesday. Across all pay TV platforms — cable, satellite and telecom — the industry lost 251,000 subscribers last year. Cable television providers lost 2 million subscribers, while telecom TV services gained 1.58 million and satellite providers added 170,000. Winners in the pay TV business last year included satellite TV services DirecTV (DTV) and Dish Network (DISH) and telecom TV providers AT&T (T) U-verse and Verizon (VZ) FiOS, all of which gained subscribers. The industry has seen quarterly declines in the past, but the first annual dip in subscribers illustrates longer-term downward pressure on the pay-TV business, even as economic conditions improve, SNL said. Scalper1 News
Scalper1 News