Posted on 10/12/2017 12:38:04 PM PDT by jeannineinsd
AT&T will report heavy subscriber losses at DirecTV in its third-quarter earnings later this month, bleeding that the telco giant chalked up to heightened competition in the pay-TV arena and the wallop of the summer hurricane season.
In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing late Wednesday, AT&T said it would post a net loss of 90,000 traditional video subscribers for the quarter, offset by the addition of nearly 300,000 subscribers to its DirecTV Now streaming service. AT&T reports its third-quarter earnings on Oct. 24.
As MoffettNathanson analyst Craig Moffett observed, the net loss means DirecTV is losing about 390,000 traditional subscribers — customers that had been paying at a higher rate than the low-cost DirecTV Now service. Moffett chalked it up to consumers moving away from the traditional big pay-TV bundle.
“It should be clear that DirecTV, like all of its cable peers, is suffering from the ravages of cord-cutting,” Moffett wrote.
The analyst also noted that the steep decline in traditional subs means that it is “all but unthinkable” that AT&T will make an effort to acquire DirecTV’s satellite TV rival Dish Network. Moffett also projects heavy video losses for Dish Network. “It is becoming increasingly clear that the wheels are falling off satellite TV,” he wrote.
The hurricanes that battered the southeastern U.S. and earthquakes in Mexico took a toll on AT&T’s wireless and video services, the company said.
AT&T warned that the drop in traditional video subs will hurt its revenues and margins. Adjusted consolidated operating income for its entertainment group will be flat year-over-year. But AT&T reiterated in the filing its full-year guidance of mid single-digit earnings growth and free cash flow of around $18 billion.
The subscriber losses at DirecTV underscore AT&T’s desire to diversify its holdings by adding Time Warner’s studio and networks to its portfolio, even though the earnings power of TW’s cable networks is also impacted by the erosion of the traditional pay-TV bundle. AT&T and Time Warner are said to be expecting formal word from the Justice Department on its review of the $85.4 billion merger by mid-November.
Dish has moved to a version of a la carte. It cut my bill about in half.
We have like 120 channels and only about 20 channels worth watching. All the others are spanish language/infomercials/religious/QVC types. I mean, there are channels like: Puppy pooping in the house? Plays over and over. Get rid of Crepe skin, Carol Burnett show dvd box set sales...on and on. Crap channels.
$85 bucks a month. Thought DirectTV would be an alternative till I did the research. Their cheapest channel is like a $105 a month with first year discounted but requires AT&T Wireless service.
Easy, Get a smart TV or amazon/roku wifi
Where’s that NFL Baghdad Bob gif ?
I care more about the stock than frigen TV so I am going to wait a bit and then load up.
It does seem to be a trading range/yield play, doesn’t it?
In what way does it make sense for a phone company to be connected with a satellite TV company?
Take away from the article for me was not TV but,
“reiterated in the filing its full-year guidance of mid single-digit earnings growth and free cash flow of around $18 billion.”
I take dividends in cash until something like this happens then turn on Div Reinvest for a few 1/4rs
The term “phone company” is just that these days, a term.
It allows Cable Companies the opportunity to use the term in their ads.
Such as, “Our Fiber Rich net work (a BS Term) and we are wonderfull unlike ,The Phone Company”
I’ve been buying at around 35 to 36, when it yields about 5.4 to 5.5%, and expecting 2-3% growth.
I suppose some people are taking the thought of declining satellite TV as an admission that they really screwed up a major investment, and that the growth isn’t there. But, a 6% drop today is rather overdoing it, IMHO.
I never do Div Reinvestments outside of IRA, because the accounting (even if my broker does it) kinda sux.
You posted: “But I can’t stream because of low speed, high drag, internet service at my location thanks to CenturyLink DSL.”
I’m moving to a new area where CenturyLink is one of the providers for tv/telephone/internet. Based upon your experience, should I try Directtv internet service instead of Centurylink?
Amazing how hurricanes are blamed for EVERYTHING nowadays.
Our one indulgence was the big DirecTV package which cost us $152 per month. Since AT&T bought them out our monthly bill is now $254 per month with no changes and they gave us no warning about the stepped price increases.
Our plan ends in two months and we are dropping DirecTV completely.
I’d go back in a minute if they offered ala carte or design your own packages and not a 4 year contract.
I guess it depends on what’s available. I have no other choice. CenturyLink says up to 3Mbs but the best I could get was 1.2Mbs and typically was about 400Kbs, and I had to bundle phone and internet so I was paying about $80/month and I didn’t need the phone but then the price of internet only would have been $69/month. I dropped it after 3 months.
Att quotes one rate and bills $50 higher. They force you to waste several hours every month getting them to correct your bill. Each time they finally confirm the correct lower quoted rate and they promise to fix it for future. But it never gets fixed. ATT is a huge consumer fraud and deserves to die die die!
I have news for ATT. It’s not hurricanes or the NFL that killing DTV it’s ATT. I have been a DTV subscriber for 17 years and often recommended it to people because of the video quality, but mostly because of their great customer service. Hands down the best in the business. Quick, polite, spoke English, helped you with your problems with professionalism. Their website was well done too. Now they are part of ATT and when you call you get Maria or Bob in Bangladesh, or a snarky robot. It’s impossible to talk to an English first language human. And the website is now a unified site meaning an ATT site which sucks. I was on it about an hour ago and gave up trying to find the information I wanted. Instead I started researching streaming services. My problem is no DVR, no subscription. I watch TV on my schedule and as of now there are no streaming devices or services that offer me the station I want with DVR services of some kind. If there were I would be gone tonight. ATT is killing DTV plain and simple.
Nice! After 30 years, maybe they’re getting a clue.
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