MONTEREY, Calif., Nov. 19, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the most recent report from SNL Kagan, multichannel subscriber losses, though slower sequentially, remained elevated for the period ended September 30. For the period comprised of the first three quarters, the data shows the largest-ever drop in subscribers, nearly five times the previous record, set in 2014.

According to SNL Kagan data, Q3'15 was the industry's sixth consecutive quarter in negative territory: period during which the United States gained 1.8 million occupied households. The converging trends have led to a slump in the U.S. multichannel penetration rate, which, as of September 30, stood at a calculated 82.4%.

That said, there appears upside from some of the negative results of the second quarter and its 629,000 subscriber decline. Customer losses were cut by 41.2%, cable logged its best third-quarter results in 8 years and approximately half of the loss was isolated to DISH Network.

Additional highlights from SNL Kagan's 3rd-quarter U.S. Multichannel Subscriber report:

• Year-to-date, cable operators have shed an estimated 672,000 basic subscriptions: a 39% reduction in customer losses annually. For the period under consideration, the first nine months of the year, it is also cable's first sub-1 million drop since 2008.
• The direct-broadcast satellite (DBS) segment lost an estimated 152,000 subscribers in the third quarter, as DIRECTV's return to positive net adds was overcome by mounting DISH losses.
• The top two telecommunications companies (telcos) combined to lose 49,000 video customers, in stark contrast to a gain of 330,000 the same period last year.

About SNL Kagan

SNL Kagan, a division of S&P Capital IQ and SNL, is a comprehensive resource for financial intelligence in the media and communications sector, including the broadcasting, cable, entertainment, motion picture, telecom, wireless, satellite, publishing and new media industries. The SNL Kagan suite of products integrates breaking news, comprehensive data and industry analysis into an electronic database available online and updated around the clock. For more information, visit www.snlkagan.com.

About S&P Capital IQ + SNL Financial

S&P Capital IQ and SNL Financial, a business unit of McGraw Hill Financial (NYSE:MHFI), is a leading provider of multi-asset class and real time data, research and analytics to institutional investors, investment and commercial banks, investment advisors and wealth managers, governments, corporations and universities around the world. The newly combined firm, previously S&P Capital IQ and SNL Financial, integrates breaking news, comprehensive data and analysis into a variety of tools to help track performance, generate alpha, and identify new trading and investment ideas, and perform investment risk analysis.  The firm offers the S&P Capital IQ, SNL, Global Credit Portal and Market Scope Advisor desktops as well as enterprise solutions, such as S&P Capital IQ Valuations; and research offerings from Leveraged Commentary & Data, Global Markets Intelligence, SNL Kagan, SNL Energy, SNL Real Estate and SNL Metals & Mining. Together, S&P Capital IQ and SNL sharpen financial intelligence into the wisdom today's investors need. For more information, visit www.spcapitaliq.com or www.snl.com.

SOURCE S&P Capital IQ and SNL Financial