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State of the Screens

Get ready for traditional TV to have historically brutal subscriber losses this quarter

By April 24, 2018No Comments

This is based on estimates from UBS Investment Bank.

Pay TV subscription losses are projected to surpass 1m this quarter. This would be the worst quarterly result yet.

Projection for 2017–18:
1) 2017: 3.3%
2) 2018: 4.0%

This would drop the total number of pay TV subscribers below the total in 2007.

Quote from John C. Hodulik — Analyst @ UBS Investment Bank.
“We believe YouTube TV and Hulu Live are off to strong starts (both launched in 2Q17) while DirecTV Now regroups as it deals with technical issues. While Sling TV and DirecTV Now offer consumers lower prices, we believe YouTube and Hulu are more clearly taking advantage of the benefits of being an online/mobile service (intuitive user interface, strong search & discovery, etc.), have leading expertise and trusted brands for streaming video, and will have significantly faster innovation cycles given their tech scale. Aside from solving many of the issues that have plagued early offerings, we also believe these services will boost awareness of the overall streaming TV market going forward.”

Michael Beach

Michael Beach is the Chief Executive Officer of Cross Screen Media, a media analytics and software company that enables marketers to plan, activate, and measure CTV and linear TV at the local level. Michael is also the founder and editor of State of the Screens, a weekly newsletter focused on video advertising that is a must-read for thought leaders in the advertising industry. He has appeared in such publications as PBS Frontline, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Axios, CNBC and Bloomberg, and on NPR’s Planet Money podcast.