Customers dumped their pay TV plans at a faster rate in the third quarter than the same period last year, as cord cutting picked up speed ahead of high cable and satellite bills.
179,000 consumers cut the cord during the quarter, far outpacing the 83,000 plans that were cancelled during that period last year. The industry has already lost more subscriptions in the first three quarters combined than in all of last year.
The new cord cutting numbers came from Wall Street research firm MoffettNathanson LLC.
Among the major providers, Cablevision lost 56,000 subscribers and DirecTV lost 28,000. The high price of cable bills seems to be the main culprit behind the cancellations.
Channel owners will eye Monday’s figures with even more wariness than last year, since subscription fees paid by providers make up a significant portion of their growth.
Many channels are rolling out over-the-top streaming services to try to retain would-be cord cutters. HBO and CBS are among the first out of the gate.
Read More: The Wall Street Journal
Brief Take: WIth cord cutting accelerating to an even faster rate, many channels may have to speed up their efforts to go over the top if they want to stay alive.
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