DirecTV: no of video subscribers in the U.S. 2014-2020

As of the fourth quarter of 2020, DirecTV had 13 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.

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 owns subscription streaming service AT&T TV Now (formerly DirecTV Now).

Decline in pay TV subscriptions

In line with industry trends, as DirecTV has suffered losses the number of AT&T TV Now subscribers has grown. DirecTV Now increased its subscriber numbers from 200 thousand at the end of 2016 to almost 1.9 million by the third 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 two million subscribers between 2013 and 2019, with losses increasing from tens to hundreds of thousands per year.