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Verizon continues to shed pay TV customers in Q4

The company's pay TV business lost 9 percent of its customers during 2024; executives focused on Verizon's healthy broadband Internet business.

The company's pay TV business lost 9 percent of its customers during 2024; executives focused on Verizon's healthy broadband Internet business.

The West End offices of Verizon Communications in Boston, Massachusetts, as pictured in March 2022. (Photo by Leon Bredella via Unsplash)
The West End offices of Verizon Communications in Boston, Massachusetts, as pictured in March 2022. (Photo by Leon Bredella via Unsplash)

Verizon saw its pay TV customer base dip by 9 percent during 2024, with the company seeing more than 267,000 disconnects throughout the 12-month period, according to financial data released on Friday.

The figure includes around 60,000 disconnects that Verizon’s Fios TV business experienced during the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2024, which ended December 31. Verizon ended 2024 with around 2.684 million pay TV customers, down from 2.951 million logged at the end of 2023.



Over the past two years, Fios has been pushing more of its Fios TV customers to switch to streaming video services as an alternative for receiving live and on-demand TV programming. To that end, it has long offered customers of its Fios Internet and Verizon 5G Home Internet products a discount on Google-owned YouTube TV, while also offering perks like free access to NFL Sunday Ticket with new customer activations. YouTube is the exclusive distributor of NFL Sunday Ticket.

The decline of Verizon’s pay TV business follows trends at other companies, including Comcast’s Xfinity, Dish Network, DirecTV and Charter’s Spectrum, which have seen higher pay TV churn in recent years as programming-related fees drive up bills and encourage customers to switch to cheaper alternatives.



For Verizon, the trend was met with shrugs by executives, who touted the company’s stellar performance in the area of broadband and wireless net additions during 2024.

Total Fios Internet customers clocked in at just north of 7.13 million by the end of the year, up 2.3 percent on a year-over basis. The figure included 47,000 new customer installations during Q4. Verizon 5G Home Internet accounts increased to 2.714 million, an increase of 45 percent on a year-over basis, including 216,000 new fixed wireless broadband activations during Q4.



Wireless postpaid lines increased 1.4 percent to 95.118 million, up 1.4 percent, while prepaid lines dropped 4.7 percent to 20.138 million. Total wireless retail lines were counted at 115.3 million, about flat when compared to 2023. The number of total wireless lines does not necessarily equate to customer accounts, as some customers have multiple lines of service.

Verizon attributed gains in its broadband and postpaid wireless service to customer perks offered through its MyPlan and MyHome initiatives, which allow subscribers to tack on subscription-based services like streaming video, music and Walmart Plus at a lower cost than if they purchased those services independent of Verizon. Bango, a technology firm that provides mobile payments and subscription integration solutions, powers Verizon’s subscription marketplace platform.

“With innovations powered by the best network in the country, we are bringing the best experiences to our customers, in life and work,” Hans Vestberg, the Chairman and CEO of Verizon, said on Friday. “Customizable offerings like myPlan, myHome, Verizon Business Complete and Total Wireless feature the control, simplicity and value our customers expect.”

Total operating revenue for 2024 was counted at $134.8 billion, about flat when compared to 2023, while cash flow from operations totaled $36.9 billion compared to $37.5 billion in 2023.

Verizon’s stock price was up nearly 1 percent in mid-day trading on Friday.

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About the Author:

Matthew Keys

Matthew Keys is a nationally-recognized, award-winning journalist who has covered the business of media, technology, radio and television for more than 11 years. He is the publisher of The Desk and contributes to Know Techie, Digital Content Next and StreamTV Insider. He previously worked for Thomson Reuters, the Walt Disney Company, McNaughton Newspapers and Tribune Broadcasting. Connect with Matthew on LinkedIn by clicking or tapping here.
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