2023 was a good year for YouTube TV as it added 1.9 million new subscribers in 2023. This is more than all of the subscribers Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV, and Fubo gained in 2023 combined, according to the Leichtman Research Group.
Not only did YouTube TV add 1.9 million subscribers but that was more than ten times the number of subscribers the next three largest live TV streaming services added in 2023. Combined, Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV, and Fubo lost 6,000 subscribers in 2023.
Here is how the live TV streaming subscriber numbers broke down in 2023:
- YouTube TV added 1.9 million subscribers.
- Hulu + Live TV added 100,000 subscribers.
- Sling TV lost 279,000 subscribers.
- Fubo added 173,000 subscribers.
As of the end of 2023, YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV, and Fubo had a total of 16,173,000 subscribers.
Overall, 2023 was a strong year for cord cutting, as over 6.9 million American households canceled cable and satellite TV. Some of the heaviest hit TV companies include Comcast, which lost over 2 million; Spectrum, which lost over 1 million; DIRECTV, which lost 1.8 million; and DISH, which lost 945,000, according to the Leichtman Research Group.
This is terrible news for cable TV networks, who had hoped live TV streaming could help keep their networks running. Instead, a growing number of Americans are switching to on-demand-only services like Disney+, Hulu, Max, and Paramount+, to name a few. This could be one of the reasons Warner Bros. Discovery just announced TruTV is being refocused into a sports network.
In total, counting all live TV services, including cable TV, satellite, and streaming, the number of people paying for channels like ESPN dropped by over 5 million in 2023.
With these numbers, you can now understand why Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery are moving to launch their own sports-focused live TV streaming service later this year. This move cuts out the middleman, helping them be more profitable.
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