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Shares of TV providers drop as AT&T warns of video losses

This Thursday, July 27, 2017, photo shows an AT&T logo at a store in Hialeah, Fla. AT&T said Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2017, that it lost 90,000 video subscribers in the U.S. in the third quarter, a steeper drop than the same period a year earlier. That includes a gain of 300,000 customers in DirecTV Now, an online cable-like service that is cheaper than traditional TV. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)
This Thursday, July 27, 2017, photo shows an AT&T logo at a store in Hialeah, Fla. AT&T said Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2017, that it lost 90,000 video subscribers in the U.S. in the third quarter, a steeper drop than the same period a year earlier. That includes a gain of 300,000 customers in DirecTV Now, an online cable-like service that is cheaper than traditional TV. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz) This Thursday, July 27, 2017, photo shows an AT&T logo at a store in Hialeah, Fla. AT&T said Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2017, that it lost 90,000 video subscribers in the U.S. in the third quarter, a steeper drop than the same period a year earlier. That includes a gain of 300,000 customers in DirecTV Now, an online cable-like service that is cheaper than traditional TV. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)

By Associated Press 2 min read

NEW YORK (AP) – Signs that more people are dropping their traditional TV subscriptions weighed on TV providers’ stocks Thursday.

AT&T said it lost 90,000 video subscribers in the U.S. in the third quarter. It’s a steeper drop than the same period last year, even though gains from its newer, cheaper online cable-like service, DirecTV Now, are included. DirecTV Now wasn’t available in the July-September quarter in 2016.

DirecTV Now added 300,000 subscribers in the quarter, so AT&T lost about 390,000 satellite TV and cable customers.

AT&T, which is also the No. 2 wireless carrier in the U.S., blames tough competition from both traditional TV providers like Comcast and newer digital-video services like YouTube TV. It also blames the impact from hurricanes and stricter credit standards for customers.

AT&T’s prediction, issued after the market closed Wednesday, echoed Comcast’s forecast in early September of third-quarter losses of 100,000 to 150,000 video customers due. That would be Comcast’s largest quarterly loss since 2014. Comcast also blamed competition and weather.