Current Subscriber Rank
#1
Current Subscribers
19.47 M
Subscribers Lost Since 2018
-1.7 M
Average Price of Cable TV
$92/mo
Average Savings to Cut the Cord
$47/mo
Data Current
As Of
2020 Q2
Upon its launch in 1963, Comcast quickly became a leader in the then-burgeoning cable industry. As cable became a must-have commodity for home entertainment, sales for Comcast increased steadily, leading to massive growth for the industry. That changed with the advent of streaming in the 21st century.
Comcast Subscriber Losses
Our trends suggest the decline of Comcast and other cable providers is indicative of trends in the broader industry. In Q1 of 2020, the cable industry reported a Quarter over Quarter (QoQ) decrease of -2.62% in cable subscribers; the worst in our data.
Since 2018, the fall of cable at large is occurring more than two times the rate that of Comcast’s decline. Even though Comcast has outperformed the industry, the service reports experiencing a QoQ decline of -1.91% in Q1 20202 – its worst since 2018. As cable continues to falter, many providers are raising their prices to accommodate for the major loss of revenue.
Related Reading: The Average Cable Bill Costs More Than All Other Utility Bills Combined
According to our data, Comcast subscribers have dropped considerably since 2018, with the company’s -388K loss in Q1 of 2020 bringing its total since 2018 to 1.3M. Only AT&T and Dish have lost more customers than Comcast over the same period.
Many cord cutters report a variety of reasons for dropping cable, however, the most common pain point is monthly price. The average Comcast bill costs their subscribers $90/mo. According to Cord Cutters News readers, the average cost of cord cutting services is $45/mo., meaning that people who make the switch to streaming can save half the monthly price of a Comcast cable package.
The Final Cut
The media industry is being dominated by streaming services and online platforms that are crushing traditional cable providers. We expect trends to continue this way, and more consumers to turn to cord cutting as a result.
Recent Comcast News
Note on method: We analyzed publicly available financial records to calculate loses for Comcast and other major cable companies. See a full note and more analysis here: Cable Company Subscriber Losses