Verizon Fios TV Experiences Worst Ever Cord Cutting, Loses 84K Subscribers in Q1

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The fastest growing pay TV service at the beginning of the last decade, Verizon Fios TV just experienced its worst customer quarter ever, losing 84,000 subscribers in Q1.

The IPTV platform now has less than 4.2 million users and is seeing—right along with the rest of the linear pay TV business—accelerated losses. Fios TV shed 222,000 users in 2019, and this most recent Q1 represented a quickening over the 53,000 users lost in the first quarter of 2019.

Also read: Verizon’s Video Strategy: Everything You Need to Know About the Wireless Giant’s Tortured TV History

In its earnings release Friday, Verizon said the losses reflect “the ongoing shift from traditional linear video to over-the-top offerings.”

Verizon is currently promoting third-party services like the YouTube TV virtual MVPD platform, which the telecom offers Fios Internet users free for three months upon signup. Verizon is also offering Fios Internet signups a free year of Disney Plus.

Also read: Verizon Fios Giving Subscribers Free Premium Channels

Verizon reported the addition of 59,000 Fios Internet users, “as work-from-home, in-home schooling, and other related measures increased the demand for high-quality broadband offerings.”

Daniel Frankel
Daniel Frankel

Daniel Frankel is the managing editor of Next TV, an internet publishing vertical focused on the business of video streaming. A Los Angeles-based writer and editor who has covered the media and technology industries for more than two decades, Daniel has worked on staff for publications including E! Online, Electronic Media, Mediaweek, Variety, paidContent and GigaOm. You can start living a healthier life with greater wealth and prosperity by following Daniel on Twitter today!