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Basic Cable Networks Continue Subscriber Slide: S&P

Cord-cutting will see the most widely distributed cable networks, like C-SPAN and Food Network, lose 15 million to 20 million subscribers by 2029, S&P Global said in an analysis Friday. The average cable network will likely lose subscribers at an…

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average annual rate of 5.4%, it said, with numbers dropping from 29.8 million this year to 23.8 million in 2029. It noted that only six cable networks grew year-end subscriber numbers between 2023 and 2024. Basic cable networks in the U.S. averaged a 7.1% decline in subscribers last year, marking the ninth consecutive year of declining subscribers for the industry due to cord-cutting, S&P added.