Cord cutting is growing faster than ever with many subscribers moving away from live TV service. In Q1 2024 alone, over 1.2 million customers canceled Comcast, Spectrum, and DISH subscriptions. Now YouTube TV, which had previously seen subscriber growth, reportedly lost 150,000 subscribers during the same period, according to Craig Moffett’s report.
This shift occurs as more cord cutters prioritize on-demand streaming services over live TV. The end of the 2023 NFL season also contributed to the subscriber drop as many are likely to re-subscribe with the start of the 2024 NFL season this fall.
This decrease comes as cable TV continues to lose subscribers at an alarming rate. Comcast, Spectrum, and DISH together lost over 13,700 TV customers daily in Q1 2024.
Comcast Reports Major Losses
In its 1st quarter earnings report released this morning, Comcast revealed it lost 487,000 cable TV customers, averaging over 5,300 subscribers lost daily. Additionally, Comcast saw a loss of 65,000 broadband customers for the quarter—a significant increase over the 34,000 customer losses experienced in Q4 2023.
If these trends persist, Comcast could see over 1.975 million TV customer losses by the end of 2024.
Spectrum Sees Continued Declines
Charter Communications’ Spectrum reported a loss of 405,000 TV customers in Q1 2024, adding to the 320,000 customers lost in Q4 2023. Spectrum also lost 72,000 internet customers for the second consecutive quarter.
If current trends continue, Spectrum is expected to lose over 1.642 million TV customers in 2024.
DISH Network Struggles as Well
DISH Network disclosed losing a total of 348,000 TV subscribers in Q1 2024, bringing its total to approximately 8.178 million. Sling TV alone lost around 135,000 subscribers while DISH TV shed another 213,000.
Comparatively better than last year’s loss of approximately 552,000 TV subscribers, DISH can still expect an estimated loss of about 1.411 million TV customers if these trends continue through the remainder of the year.
