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YouTube TV shed subscribers in Q1 2024, for the first time ever, after the NFL season ended

7/1/24 11:59AM

“YouTube TV” might sound like something of an oxymoron — with many turning to YouTube for short hits or highlights — but, since its launch in 2017, the premium service from YouTube had grown steadily to some 8 million subscribers. At least, until Q1 this year, when it took its first backward step.

Estimates from MoffettNathanson, reported by Variety’s VIP+, reveal that YouTube TV experienced its first quarterly loss of subscribers, dropping 150K paying members, as the virtual pay TV service begins to grapple with the seasonality of live sports offerings. The end of the football season — live TV's largest draw — makes Q1 particularly challenging for pay TV and this year the exodus wasn’t just limited to traditional cable.

YouTube execs will be hoping that the lost subscribers return once the season picks back up again come September, as YouTube TV holds the exclusive streaming rights to Sunday Ticket games… particularly because the company is still in the early years of a 2023-2029 deal that’s reportedly worth an eye-watering $2 billion a year. That is, as Variety points out, if the Sunday Ticket still exists following last week’s bumper antitrust trial verdict, in which the NFL was ordered to pay $4.7 billion to plaintiffs.

For years, YouTube TV was big tech’s answer to cord-cutting, but its latest quarter proves that consumers don’t exactly care how they get access to the content… once it stops being a draw, they will cancel.

Millie Giles

RECORD BREAKING

3/18/26

US vinyl sales topped $1 billion last year for the first time since 1983

With fandoms and audiophiles alike now wanting their music in a physical format, the analog economy is thriving.

Fans Line Up At Target For Midnight Release Of Taylor Swift's New Album

Millie Giles

AWARDS FUNDS

3/13/26

It might be less expensive to make an Oscar-winning movie than you think

Three of the 10 Best Picture nominees at this year’s Academy Awards had production budgets of $10 million or less.

Saleah Blancaflor3/9/26

Prediction markets show “One Battle After Another” leads in Oscar race for Best Picture

It’s finally Oscars week — and with voting officially closed, all that’s left to do is count the ballots and wait to see who wins this Sunday night.

This year, the acting categories have been the most interesting to watch, especially the showdown between “Marty Supreme” star Timothée Chalamet and “Sinners” actor Michael B. Jordan for Best Actor. While Chalamet was long the favorite, Jordan has caught up and overtaken him after winning the Actor Award.

(Event contracts are offered through Robinhood Derivatives, LLC — probabilities referenced or sourced from KalshiEx LLC or ForecastEx LLC.)

But perhaps the most exciting race of all is for Best Picture. Out of the 10 nominees, the two at the top are Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another” and Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners,” both of which are studio releases from Warner Bros. Discovery.

Which will win the top prize seems to be split among award pundits and experts. As of Monday afternoon, Gold Derby still has “One Battle After Another” as the front-runner with odds of 76.87%. AwardsWatch, AwardsRadar, and Numlock Awards are also still predicting that “One Battle After Another” will take the statue for Best Picture.

On the other side, reporters from some major trade publications like Variety’s Clayton Davis and The Hollywood Reporter’s Scott Feinberg predict that “Sinners” will take the top honor.

Odds in the prediction markets currently show that “One Battle After Another” is still ahead of “Sinners,” with the former priced in at 75% while the latter is priced at 23%.

Millie Giles

not into mezzo

3/9/26

Timothée Chalamet has upset opera and ballet fans a week before the Oscars

The actor’s comments have riled up the classical arts communities with the Academy Awards fast approaching.

Millie Giles

ALL-TIME SOLO

3/6/26

Dinner and a show — for one. More Americans are doing things solo.

With searches for dining alone peaking and a fifth of Broadway theater tickets now being bought by single visitors, the solo leisure market appears to be booming.

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Prediction markets show “One Battle After Another” leads in Oscar race for Best Picture

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