The pay TV industry added 303,000 net subscribers in the third quarter of 2025, marking the first increase since 2017. Research firm MoffettNathanson attributes this growth to strong performance from virtual providers like YouTube TV and reduced losses at traditional cable operators. However, the overall sector continues to face declines compared to previous years.
In its report titled “Cord-Cutting Monitor Q3 2025: Signs of Life?”, released on Monday, MoffettNathanson noted that pay TV operators—including cable, satellite, and virtual multichannel video programming distributors (vMVPDs) such as YouTube TV and Fubo—achieved a net gain of 303,000 subscribers during the quarter. This marks the first quarter-over-quarter increase in linear video subscribers since 2017, when the industry added 318,000 net new ones.
YouTube TV, the largest vMVPD, played a significant role, adding an estimated 750,000 subscribers in Q3 2025, down from 1 million the previous year. The service, which reported 8 million subscribers in February 2024, is now believed to have around 9.4 million.
Traditional providers also stemmed losses through streaming bundles. Charter Communications, offering packages with services like Disney+, Hulu, and HBO Max, reduced its net attrition to about 70,000 customers in Q3 2025, compared to 294,000 in Q3 2024. Comcast, which launched a bundle including Netflix, Peacock, and Apple TV+ in May 2024, recorded its best pay TV subscriber performance in nearly five years, with a net loss of 257,000.
The report states, “It was the improvement at Charter that made it possible for the growth at vMVPDs to put the whole industry into positive territory.” Despite this, cable and satellite subscriptions fell 10.2 percent year-over-year in Q3 2025, an improvement from 12.4 percent the prior year. Overall pay TV declined 5.8 percent, better than 6.7 percent before.
Viewing trends favor streaming, with Nielsen data from October showing 45.7 percent of TV time via streaming, versus 22.2 percent for cable and 22.9 percent for broadcast. MoffettNathanson cautions, “Yes, Q3 saw a positive net add number for [pay TV] for the first time in eight years, but that positive result came in the year’s seasonally strongest quarter. We’re not yet close to seeing the category actually grow again… But might we eventually?”
