DirecTV: no of video subscribers in the U.S. 2014-2020
As of the third quarter of 2020, DirecTV had 13.6 million pay TV subscribers in the United States, continuing the decline in subscriber numbers which began in early 2017. Like many similar providers, DirecTV is a casualty of the increasing dominance and success of streaming services, a phenomenon not just isolated to the U.S. but which has spread all across North America. A 2019 survey showed that Netflix was considered an essential video service by almost double the share of respondents who felt this way about satellite television. Just 28 percent of surveyed U.S. and Canadian adults deemed satellite TV to be an essential service, pushing it close to the bottom of the list of priorities below rental shows and movies, Amazon Prime Video and even cable.
In line with industry trends, as DirecTV has suffered losses the number of DirectTV Now subscribers has grown. DirecTV Now increased its subscriber numbers from 200 thousand at the end of 2016 to almost 1.6 million by the final quarter of 2018, reflecting the changing preferences of U.S. consumers and their tendency to migrate to streaming platforms from satellite and cable providers. DirecTV’s key competitor Dish Network has also seen a decline in its customer base in recent years. Dish Network lost around 1.7 million subscribers between 2013 and 2018, with losses increasing from tens to hundreds of thousands per year.
DirecTV: background information
Broadcast satellite provider DirecTV is a subsidiary of American conglomerate AT&T Inc. as of the acquisition completed in 2015 and has been in business since 1994, when it was brought into the world by Hughes Electronics. AT&T also own subscription streaming service DirecTV Now.In line with industry trends, as DirecTV has suffered losses the number of DirectTV Now subscribers has grown. DirecTV Now increased its subscriber numbers from 200 thousand at the end of 2016 to almost 1.6 million by the final quarter of 2018, reflecting the changing preferences of U.S. consumers and their tendency to migrate to streaming platforms from satellite and cable providers. DirecTV’s key competitor Dish Network has also seen a decline in its customer base in recent years. Dish Network lost around 1.7 million subscribers between 2013 and 2018, with losses increasing from tens to hundreds of thousands per year.
