US pay TV market declines in Q1

The US pay TV market declined by 612,000 subscribers in the first quarter of this year, according to research group Dataxis.

According to Dataxis, US pay TV operator collectively had 100.3 million customers at the end of the quarter, down 0.61% on the total for December.

IPTV players were the worst hit, with a base that declined by 3.1% to reach 6.3 million. DTH also lost customers, declining by 1.32% to reach 33.2 million. Cable on the other hand remained relatively stable, losing 0.17% of its base to end with 58.4 million subscribers.

OTT pay TV platforms grew by about 6% in the quarter to end with a base of 2.4 million, according to Dataxis.

Cable continues to account for over half of the total pay TV base, with DTH accounting for a third. IPTV represents 6% of the total, while OTT TV doubled its share in the last year to 2%, according to Dataxis.

By company, AT&T Group is the biggest player, with a 25% total share, split between DTH arm DirecTV, AT&T’s own IPTV base, and OTT TV offshoot DirecTV Now.

Comcast is second-ranked with a 23% share, while Charter has 17%.