Now that the third-quarter earnings season is in the rearview, it's time to assess the damage. FierceCable has assembled a complete look at the third-quarter earnings season, ranking the top cable, satellite and telco pay-TV operators and offering a look at their performance in a number of key metrics, including subscriber growth and average revenues per user (ARPU).
To see our full reporting on the third quarter, click here.
First, let's look at the top pay-TV operators, ranked by number of subscribers. This list, from Strategy Analytics, ranks the nation's operators and provides their quarterly net adds/losses and ARPU:
| Top US Pay TV Service Provider Metrics Q3 2016 (ranking by subscribers) | |||||
| Rank | Platform | Subscribers (millions) | Net Adds | ARPU* | |
| 1 | AT&T | IPTV + Satellite | 25.292 | -3,000 | $118.09 |
| 2 | Comcast | Cable | 22.428 | 32,000 | $148.47 |
| 3 | Charter | Cable | 16.887 | -47,000 | $80.81 |
| 4 | Dish Network | Satellite | 13.643 | 50,000 | $89.44 |
| 5 | Verizon | IPTV | 4.673 | 36,000 | n/a |
| 6 | Cox | Cable | 4.146 | 3,000 | n/a |
| 7 | Altice | Cable | 3.598 | -41,000 | $117.80 |
| *Comcast and Altice ARPU is Total Blended ARPU, All others are Video ARPU Source: Strategy Analytics' Digital Television Operator Performance Benchmarking: North America |
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Next, UBS analysts provided a chart on the overall video industry in the United States, showing the gains and losses in the space over the past few years. The firm said it estimates the U.S. multichannel pay TV subscribers base, including Sling TV, declined by 0.6 percent year over year in the third quarter, similar to the drop in both the first quarter and the second quarter.
Next, the analysts at MoffettNathanson checked in with a look at the overall subscriber declines in the pay-TV space over the past ten years. The firm’s figures also offer a look at how Dish Network’s Sling TV service has affected the trend.
Finally, UBS offered a look at the cable industry’s internet broadband business, which continues to gain steam. Specifically, the firm’s chart showed the impressive performance of cable companies like Charter and Comcast against telco companies like AT&T and Verizon in the broadband internet space.
