In a surprising, and likely temporary, turn of events, the number of people paying to watch cable channels has grown.
On Monday, research analyst MoffettNathanson released its “Cord-Cutting Monitor Q3 2025: Signs of Life?” report. It found that the pay TV operators, including cable companies, satellite companies, and virtual multichannel video programming distributors (vMVPDs) like YouTube TV and Fubo, added 303,000 net subscribers in Q3 2025.
According to the report, “There are more linear video subscribers now than there were three months ago. That’s the first time we’ve been able to say that since 2017.”
It’s interesting to see cable subscriptions on the rise after such a long decline. This shift might bring some new dynamics to the industry. It’ll be intriguing to watch how this trend develops in the coming months.
be a sign that people are looking for more reliable viewing options as streaming services face challenges. It’s also possible that exclusive live events or sports programming are drawing viewers back to cable. It’ll be interesting to see if this trend continues or if it’s just a short-lived spike.