
DURHAM, NH—Cord-cutting hit an all time high in the first quarter of 2023, with the largest pay TV providers in the U.S.—representing about 96% of the market—losing about 2,215,000 net video subscribers, compared to a pro forma net loss of about 1,850,000 in the same period a year ago, a decline of more than 16%, according to Leichtman Research Group.
But the loss wasn’t restricted to just traditional pay-TV; virtual multichannel program distributors such as Hulu Plus Live TV and Sling TV also lost subscribers as well. As a whole, vMVPDs lost 394,000 subscribers in Q1; the only service to gain subscribers was YouTube TV, which added approximately 100,000 during a quarter when it announced an $8 rate increase that went into effect in April.