Verizon posted a net loss 81,000 Fios Video subscribers in the second quarter, continuing its steady decline and dropping it below four million subscribers.
The quarterly video subscriber losses marked a slight improvement over the first quarter but an acceleration over the 52,000 Fios Video subscribers the company lost in the same quarter of 2019. The provider ended the second quarter with 3.987 million video subscribers.
Verizon stuck with its common refrain and attributed the quarterly subscriber losses to the “ongoing shift from traditional linear video to over-the-top offerings.”
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Verizon’s Fios Video business customer count largely held steady and ended the second quarter at 75,000.
With the Fios Video business slowly but steadily losing subscribers, Verizon has shown willingness to work with third-party video providers. This week the company announced a deal with ViacomCBS-owned Pluto TV to pre-load the streaming service’s apps across Verizon Android mobile devices, Fios cable boxes, Stream TV and 5G Amazon Home Fire devices throughout the summer. As part of the agreement, Pluto TV is partnering with Verizon to add three new co-branded channels, exclusive to Verizon subscribers.
Earlier this year, Verizon introduced new “Mix & Match” pricing that prominently features YouTube TV as an alternative to Fios Video.
Verizon Media felt the impact from COVID-19 and attributed a 24.5% drop in revenues, down to $1.4 billion, to the pandemic. The company did say that it’s been able to drive increased customer engagement on its owned and operated properties.