Abstract
Consumers are using four methods to receive packages of television channels and/or programming, including cable, satellite, telephone lines, and Internet delivery (OTT—Over-the-Top Television). This multichannel video programming distributor (MVPD) market is more competitive than ever, with consumers actively switching from one service to others, as well as subscribing to multiple services at the same time. Overall the MVPD industry continued to face substantial subscriber losses in 2016 and 2017 due to the growing cord-cutting trend. Cable operators, which still dominate the MVPD market with a 55% penetration rate, shed 2% of their video subscriber base between 2016 and 2017; direct broadcast satellite (DBS) providers with a market share of 34% lost 5%; and telephone companies with an 11% share saw their subscriber count drop by 8%. In all, the traditional MVPDs lost about 4% of their video subscribers between 2016 and 2017 and the same downward trend is expected to continue. The top four U.S. pay-TV providers (AT&T, Comcast, Charter, and DISH) served 79% of the mainstream video subscribers in 2017. The top virtual MVPDs, such as Sling TV and DirecTV Now, added more than an estimated 1.5 million subscribers in 2017. It is unclear whether the cord-cutting phenomenon will stabilize in the near future.
Until the early 1990s, most consumers who sought to receive multichannel television service enjoyed few options other than subscribing to their local cable television operator. Consumers are using four methods to receive packages of television channels and/or programming, including cable, satellite, telephone lines, and Internet delivery (OTT—Over-the-Top Television). This multichannel video programming distributor (MVPD) market is more competitive than ever, with consumers actively switching from one service to others, as well as subscribing to multiple services at the same time. By the late 1970s and early 1980s, satellites were being used to distribute TV programming to cable systems, expanding the line-up of channels available to subscribers. Direct Broadcast Satellite systems proved popular with the public but faced a number of obstacles that allowed cable to remain the dominant provider of multichannel television service. The dramatically changing MVPD marketplace offers an abundance of entry-level jobs and career paths for quick-learning, adaptable applicants.