Pay TV and Cable Lost 5.8M Subscribers in 2022

2 Min Read

As more consumers continue to make the switch to streaming, cable and traditional pay TV providers are experiencing an increased loss of subscribers. According to a tally by Leichtman Research Group, pay TV lost 5.8 million net video subscribers in 2022, up from a loss of 4.7 million in 2021. Comcast experienced the largest drop, losing just over two million subscribers, followed by Charter with 686,000 losses and Cox with an estimated 340,000. Satellite TV provider DirecTV also faced a significant loss, with an estimated 1.5 million subscribers leaving in 2022.

Amid the transition to streaming services by consumers, traditional media companies like Disney and Comcast are investing heavily in streaming, but are experiencing uneven results. Disney’s first-quarter earnings for 2022 showed that its direct-to-consumer revenues were up 13% from the previous year, but the segment reported losses of $1.1 billion, down 78% from a year earlier. According to Disney CEO Bob Iger, the media giant hopes that their streaming efforts will reach profitability in the coming years and offset their linear losses, “…We’re in a very interesting transition period, but one I think, is inevitably heading towards streaming.” Ultimately, the pressure on linear channels from cord-cutting, combined with the advertising downturn, has created a challenging environment for pay TV providers and media companies during this period of evolution in the world of TV.

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