Pay-TV Subs in Q3: More Shifting Than Cutting

The Q3 pay-TV subscription figures have been rolling in, and it looks like the country’s top providers suffered a net contraction in overall subscribers, but one not as bad as might have been expected. According to the Leichtman Research Group (LRG), the top multi-channel video providers – representing 94% of the market – lost almost 27,000 subs in Q3, an improvement from a 50,000-strong loss in Q3 2012. That said, the rolling 4-quarter loss (Q4 2012-Q3 2013) of about 80,000 subscribers is a significant downturn from the previous year’s gain of 310,000. (more…)