DBS Subscribers Up Almost 10% in First Quarter
(Cable World) With the major U.S. DBS players scrambling to boost growth by offering local broadcast stations to viewers, the industry wrapped up the first quarter with close to 4.8 million subscribers -- a gain of 440,000 customers since January.
As usual, DirecTV led the way, picking up 170,000 subscribers in the first three months to reach almost 2.5 million. Primestar and EchoStar tied for second, each gaining 130,000 customers to reach nearly 1.8 million and 480,000, respectively. AlphaStar, which recently replaced its president and revamped its distribution strategy, added 10,000 to reach 45,000.
Meanwhile, the slumping C-Band business, dwarfed by the DBS growth, lost another 53,000 customers in the first quarter to fall to just above 2.2 million. |
