Why 2020 Will Be Brutal for the Cable Industry
Given the sheer massiveness of the number of cable television customers AT&T (NYSE: T) lost during the second quarter, it would be easy to conclude that the COVID-19-infected quarter represents the apex of its attrition, the worst of the worst. Between the 886,000 premium users who cut the cord -- mostly DirecTV -- and the 68,000 over-the-top customers who canceled their service, the company shed 954,000 customers. That's technically a slower pace of losses than previous quarters, but that's largely because there are now fewer customers to lose. Some customers were likely canceled because of financial issues related to the coronavirus, although surely a large number of stuck-at-home consumers signed on or remained on board while there was little else to do but watch TV.
A recent survey performed by streaming set-top box brand Roku (NASDAQ: ROKU) suggests things are likely to get worse before they get better, though, and not just for AT&T. Other cable players like Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) and Charter Communications (NASDAQ: CHTR) are in trouble, too. Not even the virtual cable platforms like Alphabet's (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) YouTube TV seem safe.
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Source Fool.com
