• by Wayne Friedman , July 28, 2023

Traditional pay TV video “cord-cutting” -- cable, satellite and telco services --  has hit a new low of 9% for the second consecutive quarter, matching the lowest level ever reported, according to Guggenheim Securities.

While newer “virtual” pay TV services such as leader YouTube TV are climbing, overall declines also are at historic lows -- a 5% quarterly rate. 

Virtual pay TV business is now at 8.4% estimated share, up from 8.1% in the first quarter. 

YouTube is the leader in the business, now with over six million customers, as other virtual pay TV services continue to lose ground.

Hulu+Live TV was down 100,000 subscribers in the first quarter, while Sling TV slipped 200,000 and FuboTV dropped 160,000.

For the second quarter 2023, Guggenheim says video subscribers declined from distributors were at 813,000 -- representing about 71% of pay-TV companies, and around 44% of the total pay-TV universe. 

Over a 12-month period, distributors are down 3.2 million.

Two of the major pay TV providers -- Comcast Corp. and Charter Communications -- posted net second-quarter losses of 543,000 (12.6%) and 200,000 (5.1%) declines respectively.

Companies that have not yet reported second-quarter pay TV results include Altice USA, Dish Network/Sling TV, FuboTV, Hulu, Cable One and WideOpenWest.