Submitted by Fox First at Ten on September 17th
By The Associated Press
Cable and satellite TV companies have been releasing their earnings reports for the latest quarter.
The second quarter is usually a weak one for pay-TV services because students cancel their subscriptions ahead of the summer holidays, and some "snowbirds" cancel their winter home subscriptions before heading to their summer homes.
Here is a summary of earnings reports for selected companies and what they reveal about the industry's prospects:
- July 19: Verizon Communications Inc. says it added 120,000 FiOS video customers to end with 4.5 million in June.
Dish Network Corp. says it lost a net 10,000 subscribers, which was smaller than analysts predicted in a typically week quarter for pay TV operators. It ended the quarter with 14.1 million subscribers in the U.S.
- July 24: AT&T Inc. says it added 155,000 U-verse TV subscribers to end with 4.1 million.
- Aug. 1: Comcast Corp. says it lost 176,000 video subscribers, though the rate of decline has slowed. It ended the quarter with 22.1 million to remain the nation's largest.
- Aug. 2: DirecTV Inc. says it lost 52,000 U.S. subscribers, the first quarter it has lost subscribers. DirecTV ended the quarter with 19.9 million U.S. subscribers, making it the second-largest provider of pay-TV signals in the country, after Comcast. DirecTV's Sky Brasil and PanAmericana added 645,000 subscribers. That was up from 472,000 a year ago and the best result ever for the company.
Time Warner Cable Inc., the second-largest cable company, says it lost 169,000 subscribers in the second quarter, a record for the company. It ends the quarter with 12.3 million.
- Aug. 7: Charter Communications Inc., the country's fourth-largest cable-TV provider, lost 72,000 TV customers in the quarter to end with 4.3 million.
Cablevision Systems Corp. has stemmed the loss of TV subscribers for the second quarter in a row, at the cost of holding its prices steady. It held the number of TV subscribers steady at 3.3 million.
- Aug. 8: Dish Network Corp. reiterated that it lost 10,000 subscribers, leaving it with 14.1 million and as the third-largest provider of pay-TV signals to U.S. homes.
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