Analysts say cable TV continues to lose subscribers: U.S. pay‑TV totals are about 62 million in 2026, a level Business Insider reports after citing MoffettNathanson research.
The decline has been persistent. Business Insider notes that MoffettNathanson found subscriber numbers fell by 4.6% in the second quarter of 2026, an improvement from a 6.4% loss a year earlier, and that the industry once had roughly 100 million subscribers in 2016.
Earlier data from industry trackers show heavy losses in prior years. CordCuttersNews reported that in the first quarter of 2023 Comcast, Dish and Spectrum together lost 930,241 pay‑TV subscribers, and that total pay‑TV losses that quarter reached about 2.31 million customers.
Those figures illustrate the broader pattern behind the recent reports: consumers have moved to streaming services and bundled digital options, while pay‑TV providers have tried repackaging content and emphasizing live sports to retain viewers, Business Insider reports via MoffettNathanson.
Industry watchers say the pace of losses appears to be slowing, and MoffettNathanson projects a possible long‑term floor near 50 million U.S. subscribers by 2030 if current trends hold, according to Business Insider.
Sources
- Business Insider — reported U.S. pay‑TV totals of about 62 million in 2026 and summarized MoffettNathanson’s findings on slowing subscriber declines.
- CordCuttersNews — provided quarter‑one 2023 loss figures, including a combined 930,241 subscriber decline for Comcast, Dish and Spectrum.
