YouTube TV proves to have garnered more than 6.5 million subscribers within the third quarter of 2023, as per 9to5Google, reportedly continuing its stride to being Google's fastest growing product.
The report indicates that according to a new study from Leichtman Research Group, YouTube TV has 6.5 million subscribers as of Q3 2023, an increase of 600,000 over Q2 2022.
Because of this, YouTube TV continued to be the largest and fastest-growing service, with Hulu reaching 4.6 million subscribers, Sling TV surpassing 2.1 million, and Fubo sitting just short of 1.5 million. Fubo saw the largest increase in additions, accounting for 310,000 more subscribers than Sling TV, which grew at the slowest rate of all.
YouTube TV continues its dominance in previous months as according to a November report from Business Insider, statistics from an internal Google system called Magic Eye, which monitors the development of corporate products and how they perform versus competitors, YouTube TV increased by 48% between October 2022 and October 2023.
The research also showed that the television streaming service had the best retention rate and the most engagement of any Google product. It stated that only 8% of YouTube TV accounts had expired, and that 52% of users were regular viewers.
YouTube TV's success could reportedly be attributed to its recent partnership with the National Football League (NFL) back in December 2022, allowing the television streaming service to air the majority of Sunday Ticket games on YouTube. Google is reportedly paying over $2 billion annually for the package, which is an add-on for YouTube TV customers.
YouTube TV's Dominance
Overall, YouTube remains a revenue-generating machine for Google. The division's ad revenue for the most recent quarter was $7.95 billion, up 12.5% over the previous year. During Alphabet's Q3 earnings call, Ruth Porat, president and chief investment officer, highlighted YouTube TV's subscriber increase as a positive development.
According to Google's internal data as per Business Insider, the form factor with the quickest annual growth was television. The firm reportedly made it obvious that it was taking advantage of this by announcing a number of new TV-focused services for advertisers, including 30-second unskippable commercials when YouTube was viewed on a TV.
Cord-Cutting Worsens
This achievement and continued dominance of television streaming services comes after cable providers continue to lose subscribers, as per the same 9to5Google report.
Cable companies reportedly saw a decline of 985,000 subscribers. In contrast, online services such as YouTube TV acquired an estimated 1,327,000 customers overall, while the industry as a whole saw a net loss of about 465,000 subscribers.
This proves to follow after an all-time high loss of subscriber count for cable companies last Q1 of 2023, as per Variety. SVB MoffettNathanson senior analyst Craig Moffett reportedly says that "We are watching the sun beginning to set."
Variety states that according to MoffettNathason, cord-cutting will only continue to worsen following the continued subscriber count loss.
