Verizon’s Fios TV lost 84,000 net
video subscribers in this year’s first quarter — up from 55,000 lost in Q1 2019.
Fios now has about 4.1 million total video subscribers.
During 2019, Fios lost a net
222,000 subscriptions, to end the year at 4.21 million total subscribers, according to Leichtman Research.
Several other pay-TV services saw much larger losses last year, including DirecTV
(-3.12 million), Comcast (-732,000) and AT&T TV Now (-665,000).
Fios attributed the video losses to the “ongoing shift from traditional linear video to over-the-top
offerings.”
Verizon’s business video subscribers were flat in Q1, and it gained 59,000 subscribers for its consumer business broadband, which the company attributed to accelerated
demand due to working and schooling from home during the coronavirus crisis.
The video subscriber declines continued despite the company’s splashy introduction, in January, of a “Mix & Match” plan meant to give
consumers a more flexible, perhaps less expensive alternative to big-bundle plans.
Mix & Match lets subscribers select from three internet speeds and several relatively small, relatively
inexpensive and more customized TV bundles, at preset rates. There are no contracts, so subscribers can change their options as often as every month.
The Mix & Match program also
applies to Verizon’s internet and phone services.
Last year, Verizon announced it would give a free year of Disney+ to 4G LTE and 5G unlimited subscribers and new Fios Home
Internet and 5G Home Internet customers. It also promoted YouTube TV to Verizon live TV customers.
Verizon said its media business had been improving during 2019, but has been
negatively impacted by the pandemic. That segment’s revenues declined $1.7 billion in Q1, representing a 4% decline from the year-ago quarter.