Pay-TV providers lost 2 million net video subscribers in Q1, the biggest quarterly loss ever and double those of the 2019 quarter, reported Leichtman Research Group Thursday. Satellite TV services lost just over 1 million subs, vs. 810,000 a year ago. The top seven cable companies shed 595,000 vs. a 335,000 decline; phone companies lost 125,000 vs. a 105,000 loss. The top publicly reporting vMVPDs -- AT&T TV NOW, Hulu + Live TV and Sling TV -- lost about 320,000 vs. 225,000 net adds. The record net losses were partly due to the impact of COVID-19 but don’t solely reflect consumers' dropping services, said analyst Bruce Leichtman: “Several providers cited a decrease in connects as a key component of net losses in the quarter, rather than an increase in disconnects.”
Cable and phone MVPDs added 1.16 million broadband subscribers in Q1, the most since Q1 2015, reported Leichtman Research Group Wednesday. That compared with 955,000 subscribers in Q1 2019. Leading broadband providers have 102.4 million subscribers: top cable companies have 69.2 million; top wireline phone companies, 33.2 million, LRG said. Top cable companies had the most quarterly net additions for cable broadband services in 13 years, said analyst Bruce Leichtman. Comcast added 477,000 subscribers, to 29.1 million; Charter added 582,000, to 27.2 million. AT&T lost 74,000, to 15.3 million; Verizon added 26,000, to 6.9 million.
Streamer Pluto TV had ample time to comply with IP captioning requirements, and granting its one-year waiver request (see 1906270061) would tell others it's OK to procrastinate on IP requirements until noncompliant platforms are old enough that following the rules would be tough and ultimately never have to comply. That's what Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Cerebral Palsy and Deaf Organization, and Gallaudet University Technology Access Program representatives told FCC Media Bureau Chief Michelle Carey, per a docket 11-154 posting Tuesday. They said Pluto hasn't made the case for an economic burden waiver. Pluto outside counsel didn't comment.
Expect more ISPs to join small cable operators in considering the switch from traditional cable TV service to streaming service offerings, CCG Consulting President Doug Dawson blogged Friday. Operational cost savings are a big motivator because ending traditional cable means far fewer customer service calls and truck rolls and the expenses of set-top boxes, he said. That would also mean cable operators can quit collecting local franchise fees assessed on cable service, and also avoid all the local obligations that come with a cable franchise, he said.
TiVo and Xperi, on course for a June combination, got regulatory OK, their executives told investors on quarterly calls Wednesday. On the International Trade Commission’s latest limited exclusion order (see 2004280028) banning import of Comcast X1 set-top boxes, TiVo CEO David Shull called his firm's two victories against the cable operator, finding the cabler infringed on TiVo-owned Rovi patents, "significant." He said they confirm the ITC will continue to be a venue where the company can protect intellectual property. Comcast had to remove features and functionality from the X-1, Shull said. The administrative law judge's initial determination for a third ITC case is due by June 29; the commission's final determination is due by Oct. 29, he said. Comcast didn't comment Thursday. Chief Financial Officer Wes Gutierrez said TiVo is fortunate COVID-19 hasn’t had a significant impact on revenue. Most sales come from agreements with pay-TV operators and others in the video delivery industry, he said. The company expects Android TV-based IPTV deployments to drive footprint growth this year, said Shull. Eleven North American MVPDs agreed to deploy the self-install process, he noted. TiVo had a 58% boost in entertainment viewing across the TiVo platform beginning March 23, Shull said, regarding COVID-19. TiVo Q1 revenue of $160 million was up 1% over the year-ago quarter, it reported. Xperi Q1 billings were $112.8 million vs. $104.3 million. Materials for its latest quarter are here, including information on the conference call. For TiVo's call, see the event here.
The average household is watching eight more hours of TV per week than in early March, at 66 hours, said Comcast Wednesday. Due to self-isolation during COVID-19, distinctions between weekend and weekday viewing behaviors are blurring, with a rise in weekday viewing to levels resembling weekends, it said. Monday has taken over from Saturday as second most popular day to watch TV, behind Sunday. Comcast cited a 40% uptick in late-night TV viewing, especially 11 p.m.-2 a.m.; less viewing is happening 6-8 a.m. It cited a 64% bump in news viewing, peaking the week of March 30. Dramas led genres at 30%, followed by news (29%), comedy (28%), reality (15%), and action and adventure (15%). DVR usage decreased and VOD rose 50%. Comcast cited double-digit growth in discovery-related voice commands as consumers look for new content.
TiVo added Pluto TV to its platform, it said Tuesday.
Cable interests didn't agree about possibly eliminating the rule that cable operators maintain records in online inspection files about attributable interests in video programming services, in docket 20-35 comments posted this week. An NPRM on axing or modifying the rule was approved at commissioners' March 31 meeting (see 2002280044). Verizon said Tuesday there's "simply no basis" for requiring cable operators to keep attributable interest records in their public inspection files because the agency or local franchise authorities can just request records from operators, and responding to those requests is less burdensome for operators. NCTA called the rule "regulatory underbrush [that] serves no meaningful purpose." ACA Connects said vertical integration information could be useful in bringing a program access complaint but urged the FCC to find "a less burdensome" means for making it available. It suggested such possibilities as eliminating the part of the rule requiring reporting carriage of a particular system, or revising rules to require cable operators post the information only once and then make updates when it changes.
Having received OMB approval of FCC information collection requirements, the 2017 cable TV technical and operational standards order is in effect, said Monday's Federal Register. Asked about the three-year delay, the FCC didn't comment.
A slowdown in video customers canceling service might be temporary, resulting from shelter-in-place orders, Charter Communications CEO Tom Rutledge said Friday, announcing Q1 results. He said the company expects residential broadband demand to stay strong, but unemployment and economic issues could be a headwind. Nonpolitical advertising in March was down 18% year over year in large part due to sports cancellations (see 2005010011), Chief Financial Officer Chris Winfrey said. Q2 for advertising “will be challenging,” he said, saying Charter expects ads to pick up when the economy picks up. He said 140,000 customers are in its disconnection protection program, with 65,000 of them carrying past-due balances beyond the point of normal disconnection. He said those numbers are likely to grow in Q2. Charter has 25.47 million residential broadband customers, up 1.45 million; 15.55 million residential video customers, down 400,000; and 9.36 million residential voice customers, down 655,000. In Q1, it lost 70,000 video customers compared with a loss of 152,000 in Q1 2019. Revenue was $11.7 billion, up 4.8%. Rutledge said the FCC's April 6 GHz order (see 2004240011) was "a transformational step for broadband," but it didn't affect what value Charter might see for citizens broadband radio service auction spectrum.