Digital TV News: AT&T

HBO Max at 4.1M; AT&T U.S. down 954k; Vrio down 2.5M video subs in 2Q 2020
Jul 23, 2020 – AT&T (NYSE:T) has reported results for Q2 2020. HBO Max had 4.1 million subscribers after 1 month of operation.For the quarter, U.S. video subscribers were down 854,000, and Vrio subscribers were down 312,000 excluding the closure of DIRECTV Venezuela.
News categories: AT&T, John Stankey, Digital TV, IPTV, Latin America, OTT, Results, Satellite, Subscribers, USA

Churn rate for U.S. OTT services at 41% in Q1 2020
Jun 29, 2020 – Parks Associates reports the churn rate for U.S. OTT services increased from 35% in Q1 2019 to 41% in Q1 2020. During the COVID-19 crisis, more than two in five US broadband households trialed an OTT service.
News categories: Parks Associates, Steve Nason, COVID-19, Digital TV, Market Research, OTT, USA

Connected TV advertising shows promise in Europe
Jun 18, 2020 – Xandr and IAB Europe have released a report on Connected TV (CTV) in Europe. 58% of respondents reported targeting efficiencies as being a key driver to considering or increasing investment in CTV.
News categories: IAB Europe, Xandr, Marie-Clare Puffett, Austin Scott, Advertising, Digital TV, Europe, Market Research, OTT

TV streaming accounts will surpass 1 billion globally in 2020
Jun 11, 2020 – The number of online TV streaming accounts will reach 1.1 billion in 2020, surpassing traditional pay TV accounts for the first time, marking a watershed moment in the history of TV consumption, according to GlobalData.
News categories: GlobalData, Danyaal Rashid, Digital TV, Market Research, OTT, Worldwide

HBO Max launched in the U.S.
May 27, 2020 – WarnerMedia’s streaming platform, HBO Max, has officially launched. The launch is the culmination of efforts to bring the best of WarnerMedia together to launch the new offering, following AT&T’s acquisition of Time Warner.
News categories: WarnerMedia, HBO Max, Bob Greenblatt, Digital TV, OTT, USA

WarnerMedia announces further launch partners for HBO Max
May 20, 2020 – WarnerMedia has announced that the latest companies to sign on to distribute HBO Max at launch include Altice USA, Cox Communications, Microsoft, National Cable Television Cooperative (NCTC), Samsung, Sony Interactive Entertainment and Verizon.
News categories: WarnerMedia, HBO Max, Rich Warren, Apps, Cable TV, Digital TV, Games Console, IPTV, OTT, USA

AT&T closes DIRECTV Latin America operations in Venezuela
May 19, 2020 – AT&T has closed its DIRECTV Latin America operations in Venezuela. The U.S. government’s sanctions have prohibited the broadcast of Globovision and PDVSA's channels which are required under DIRECTV’s license to provide pay TV in Venezuela.
News categories: AT&T, Digital TV, Satellite, Venezuela

U.S. sees largest first quarter multichannel subscriptions decline to-date
May 15, 2020 – According to Kagan, initial speculation that TV-hungry, isolated viewers would at least temporarily stem cord cutting in the U.S. was dispelled with the industry's largest first quarter decline for traditional multichannel subscriptions.
News categories: S&P Global, Digital TV, Market Research, USA

Major U.S. pay TV providers lost about 2,065,000 subscribers in 1Q 2020
May 14, 2020 – Leichtman Research Group (LRG) has found that the largest pay-TV providers in the U.S. lost about 2,065,000 net video subscribers in 1Q 2020, compared to a pro forma net loss of about 1,025,000 subscribers in 1Q 2019.
News categories: Leichtman Research, Bruce Leichtman, Cable TV, Digital TV, IPTV, OTT, Satellite, Subscribers, USA