If larger U.S. cable operators follow the path of some of their smaller counterparts and play down or retreat from pay TV, overall subscriber video sub losses could soon accelerate from moderate to torrential levels, Craig Moffett, a top industry analyst at MoffettNathanson, predicts in a revised forecast of the domestic pay-TV market.
The statllite TV service added a net 327,000 U.S. subscribers in the July to September period, the best third-quarter result in at least five years. Including Latin American operations, net gains were 901,000, the best for any quarter. Average revenue per U.S. user was $92.21 per month, a modest increase of 3.6% from a year ago.
DirecTV Group expects to add significantly in excess of 200,000 net new subscribers in the United States in the current quarter, Chief Executive Mike White said today. The company is on course to have more than 19.1 million subs by year-end, closing in on Comcast Corp’s shrinking leadership in the U.S. pay TV sector, White said at DirecTV’s Investor Day.
