The initial returns for U.S. multichannel video subscribers indicate slight improvement for the cable industry in the fourth quarter of 2013, but not on the scale to significantly impact dour full-year results. The overall multichannel segment, including DBS and telco, appears unable to shake the malaise in subscriber growth.
With reports from operators that account for about 86% of the subscribers, the cable industry is showing improvement in reducing losses in the fourth quarter from the year-ago period. However, lower gains for both the DBS and telco platforms point to an overall smaller increase in the fourth quarter 2013 when compared to the year-ago period.
The annual gains from the early returns for the full year 2013 tell a different story, one primarily directed by losses by cable operators. While the group of 10 operators added more than 1.1 million subs in 2012, the same set produced net adds of just 207,000 in 2013.
The results for the remaining operators, a mix of company reports and SNL Kagan estimates, are expected to be complete in mid-March pending additional inputs. Because the bulk of the outstanding customer counts derive from the cable space, the prospects of improvement from the interim figures are not good, suggesting a slimmer gain or even flat year-over-year results for the multichannel segment.
The operators that have reported through Feb. 26 account for approximately 86% of the estimated multichannel subscriptions on the cable, telco and DBS platforms. The operators include Comcast Corp., Time Warner Cable Inc.,Charter Communications Inc., Cablevision Systems Corp., Mediacom Communications Corp., Cable One Inc.,DIRECTV, DISH Network Corp., AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc.
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