Analysis of the US pay-TV market from SNL Kagan for the first quarter of 2011 has revealed further declines in cable TV, subscribers and mixed results in DBS but growth in telco TV.

The survey of the leading 15 TV markets in the US found that cable showed a year on year fall of 8% in revenues respectively. In absolute terms, cable subscribers fell from 24.1 million to 23.2 million in the top 15 markets.

The survey found that overall, the declines in cable TV subs were balanced by gains in DBS and in particular telco TV, with the top 15 markets in total finishing nearly flat in total multichannel subs over the annual period. Cable losses were greatest in Dallas and Atlanta, markets where, by way on contrast, telco TV subscribers increased 7.8% and 29%, respectively.

In the main cities, multichannel subs in New York fell below 7 million in the first quarter, due to falls in cable and DBS subs and joined Chicago, Dallas, Boston and Atlanta in the league table of highest fallers. The most significant growth markets in terms of total multichannel subs were Los Angeles and Washington. DBS subs in major markets showed a 0.1% gain for the year versus the 1.8% gain for the industry, showing that DBS is gaining more subs in midsized to smaller markets.

Telco video market share is creeping up in major markets, reaching 23% in Dallas, nearly 20% in the district and 17%-plus in Tampa-St. Petersburg and Houston.

In terms of specific company performance in the top 15 markets, Comcast was found to be the largest multichannel operator in with 11.6 million subs, followed by DIRECTV, DISH Network, and Time Warner Cable. Cablevision is fifth with nearly 3 million subs, followed by Verizon FiOS with more than 2.9 million.

Joseph O'Halloran | 24-06-2011