The number is almost double what it was in 2018. But it is not all bad news: it is lower than the one registered in 2019.
Knowing the latest financial reports of 2020 from the large pay TV operators in the US, it is finally possible assess the final numbers in terms of cord-cutting, a catastrophic year again for the sector, although with a glimmer of hope.
In total, the main US operators together lost a total of 5.1 million subscribers during 2020.
The figure almost doubles the figure for 2018. But it is not all bad news: it is lower than that reported in 2019, when 5.6 million were lost. That, despite the fact that several consulting firms predicted that 2020 would be the worst year in history for cord-cutting.
Thus, some analysts are now seeing a slowdown in the phenomenon.
In terms of companies, AT&T was again the most affected, with a total drop among all its services of 3.3 million subscribers, a negative figure but, again, better than that of 2019 (-4.1 million).
Comcast, by contrast, doubled its decline in 2020: from 732,000 fewer subscribers in 2019 to 1.4 million in 2020.
Dish Network, meanwhile, lost 526,000 in 2020; Its Sling TV service alone, born to combat cord-cutting, lost 118,000.
The exception came from Charter’s Spectrum TV, which closed the year with 56,000 more subscribers.
