Cord-Cutting Hits New Q3 High as 889,000 Subs Drop Pay TV

(Image credit: Getty Images)

The linear pay TV business had its worst third-quarter ever with about 889,000 subscribers cutting the cord, according to an analysis by MoffettNathanson.

Traditional cable, satellite and telco distributors lost 11.7% of their subscribers compared to a year ago.

The new virtual multichannel video programming distributors — such as YouTube TV — are not picking up all of the customers dropping traditional subscriptions, MoffettNathanson found. Only 21.7% of cord cutters signed up for a vMVPD in the third quarter, down from 31% a share ago, the equity research firm said.

That left total linear TV down 7.3% in the quarter, compared to a 5.6% dip a year ago.

“The picture is not one that suggests that a plateau in the rate of decline is coming anytime soon,” MoffettNathanson said.

Cord Cutting MoffettNathanson — (Image credit: MoffettNathanson)

The cord-cutting dropped pay TV penetration — including vMVPDs — to just 54.8% of occupied households, the lowest since 1989.

MoffettNathanson estimates that YouTube TV is the biggest of the vMVPDs with nearly 7 million subscribers, or about 40% of all 17.999 million vMVPD customers. That total is up from 16.910 million at the end of Q2 and 16.419 a year ago.

In the third quarter, YouTube TV added 350,000 subscribers, boosted by its acquisition of the NFL Sunday Ticket out-of-market package.

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.