Conversion Rates to vMVPD Subs 'Fell Off the Table' in Q4, Says Analyst

Conversion rates to vMVPD subscriptions, seen by industry as a “lifeboat” for programmers amid cord cutting, “fell off the table” in Q4, MoffettNathanson's Craig Moffett wrote investors Friday. The analyst warns a 1:1 conversion rate “was highly unlikely to be sustainable” to offset linear TV declines. Though YouTube TV and Hulu Live TV did well with what he estimated as net additions of 400,000 and 500,000 in Q4, DirecTV Now and Dish’s Sling TV “did very badly.” After accounting for smaller operators including PlayStation Vue and fuboTV, “not nearly enough" vMVPD subscriptions were added to offset declines in linear TV, Moffett said, estimating total subscriptions, including vMVPDs, fell 248,000 in Q4, the worst since mid-2017.