Cable Suffers Customer Loss, Telco Up 24%

Watching-TV

Cable TV distribution continues to lose customers in the top 15 markets, with telco companies sharply rising and satellite TV companies seeing little change. 

There was a 3.8% decline in the first quarter of 2011 versus the same period in 2010 in the top 15 markets, slipping to 23.2 million customers, per SNL Kagan.

New York City, the biggest TV market, dropped 3.4%; Los Angeles, at No. 2, sank 4%; and Chicago, the third-largest market, slipped 5.1%.

The biggest declines in major markets were in Atlanta (eighth-biggest), losing 8%; Dallas (fifth place) gave up 7.7%. Seattle (13th place) lost the least, at 0.2%.

Telco was up 24% to 4.4 million among the top 15 markets during the period, with Los Angeles rocketing up 50.9% in customers during the period and Chicago 49.5%. The slowest movers were Dallas, rising just 7.8%, and Detroit (11th place) 16.4% higher.

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Satellite TV distribution in the top 15 markets was virtually unchanged -- up 0.1% to 10.64 million. Washington (the 9th-largest market) was up 3.9%; Houston (the 10th-largest) was 3.8% higher.

Looking at all multichannel TV distributors -- cable, satellite and telco -- these TV business were virtually unchanged in the top 15 markets during the first quarter, slipping 0.1% to 38.18 million.

Washington witnessed the greatest rise at 4.7%; and Los Angeles was next at 3.9%. Atlanta lost the most at 5.2%; Phoenix was next at 3.3%.

2 comments about "Cable Suffers Customer Loss, Telco Up 24%".
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  1. Elliott Mitchel from Major Market Media Services, June 24, 2011 at 8:52 a.m.

    a little help here...

    Are "telco companies" like "ATM machines" and "PIN numbers?"

  2. Andrew Holeman from self, June 25, 2011 at 10:04 a.m.

    Telcos are telecommunications companies such as AT&T and Verizon; versus Cable companies such as Xfinity/Comcast, Cox, etc.

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