3.1 million new broadband subscriptions, pay-TV continues decline in 2015

A Leichtman Research Group (LRG) study found that in 2015 the country’s largest cable and telephone companies added 3.1 million new high-speed Internet subscriptions – the most since 2010. Total number of broadband subscriptions is now more than 90 million, with top cable companies having about 55.2 million broadband subscribers, and top telephone companies having 35.1 million subscribers.

Cable companies added 3.3 million subscribers in 2015. Comcast added 1.4 million and Time Warner Cable added 1.1 million subscriptions. The study also found that, although the “telephone companies” lost more than 1.7 million DSL subscribers in 2015, AT&T’s U-verse and Verizon’s FiOS added 1.5 million subscribers. AT&T lost 250,000 broadband subscribers and Verizon gained 23,000. Frontier added 101,000 subscribers.

In addition, pay-TV cord-cutting increased, as LRG finds that pay-TV companies lost more than 385,000 customers in 2015. This number more than doubles the industry loss in 2014 (150,000) and more than triples 2013 losses (100,000).

According to LRG, cable companies account for 97% of the 6.1 million net broadband adds over the past two years.

LGR’s breakdown of the study:

3.1 Million Added Broadband From Top Providers in 2015 (Leichtman Research Group, Mar. 11, 2016)

Cord-cutting more than doubled in 2015: Pay-TV lost 385K customers, Leichtman tally finds (FierceTelecom, Mar. 10, 2016)