Some interesting information was in this article-
Fifty million-plus subs could serve as the 'floor' for US pay-TV by 2030, reckons MoffettNathanson.
www.lightreading.com
This first-
The total pay-TV sector (traditional service providers and virtual MVPDs) shed 885,000 subscribers in Q2 2026
So with the loss of 2.03 Million in the first quarter, already at 2.915 Million gone this year, two quarters left to report.
#2-
The segment ended Q2 with 61.51 million subs comprising 27.5 million cable video subs, 21.42 million vMVPD customers, 9.56 million satellite TV customers, and 3.01 million telco TV subs.
There are approximately
133.97 million households in the United States, according to recent
YCharts US Households Data from mid-2026.
That means more than
72 Million households do not have a paid live TV service, about 54% of the total.
What is worse, 7 years ago, paid live TV had over 80% of the population subscribing (
about 100 Million), almost all were Cable/Satellite customers.
Today, only about
37 Million subscribe to Cable/Satellite, less than 28% of our population.
#3-
At one time, Satellite TV (Dish and DirecTV), had about 34 Million subscribers added together, now, 9.56 Million.
That is over a 70% loss for those who subscribe to Satellite TV.
For Cable TV, not as bad, since they have broadband to help against the losses ( bundles), but as more options appear ( 5G, fiber, starlink, etc), I expect a big increase in those leaving cable.
Also expect YTTV to really start gaining even more subscribers, for those who still wish to have a live TV service, based on price point and it is a really great service.