It’s looking a little like 2017 again, at least for the Pay-TV world. With bundles showing their first growth in 8 years, there may be a little room to celebrate. And entertainment lawyer at Blake & Wang P.A., Brandon Blake, has the news to share.
It was a modest increase, certainly. 303,000 new subscribers, over cable, satellite, and streaming packages. While the decline rate was 5.8% still, that’s the fifth quarter we’ve seen it tighten. Notably, the Moffett Nathanson data behind it doesn’t size the total market. But that’s believed to be in the 65M to 70M range. It may not be the king of the market hill anymore, but that is still weighty. More importantly, it may suggest what we’ve suspected all along: Pay-TV isn’t dead, its influence has just shrunk.
First Uptick Since 2017
Intriguing Implications
With most cable providers showing at least a little improvement in this decline, and a wider move to consolidation and streamlining, we might be looking at (close to) the bottom for Pay-TV. In fact, the bottom may have passed already.
What’s changed?
Pay-TV got the wakeup it needed to start offering more, instead of cruising on what worked in the 90s and 00s. We’ve seen many streaming/cable bundles pop up this year, alongside that consolidation. Interestingly, YouTube TV, which has never been a true cable model, saw steady and in-line, but above all average, new subscriber rates. The slowdown in exits came from traditional broadcasting.
It turns out Pay-TV isn’t dead. It needed a new image and more interest for today’s viewers. It also shows streaming and older models still play nicely together. Pretty similar, in fact, to how theatrical releases have come to support streaming, not fall to it. It seems the Hollywood world does have space for different models and approaches, after all.
Film and Television 