Complete Story
11/24/2014
Cord cutting accelerates as 150,000 cancel TV service
Cord cutting is accelerating as more people in the U.S. turn to Internet services such as Netflix, Hulu and YouTube to watch their favorite programs.
About 150,000 pay-TV customers canceled video service in the three months that ended June 30, according to estimates published on Friday by Leichtman Research Group.
Pay-TV systems lost 25,000 subscribers during the same time period last year, Leichtman said.
Sony, satellite-TV provider Dish Network and other companies have announced plans to start pay-TV systems that transmit channels over-the-Internet and offer smaller, less-expensive bundles. Sony and Dish said their aim is the attract younger consumers who have so far never signed up for traditional cable TV service.
Time Warner Cable lost the most with 182,000 defections, followed by Comcast with 81,000, according to Leichtman. Comcast, the biggest cable company in the U.S., is seeking permission from regulators to buy Time Warner Cable, the industry's second-biggest, for $45 billion.
