Over the past few years, cable TV has gradually declined in popularity due to the rapid rise of streaming services, which offer consumers a more affordable way to watch movies and TV shows.

DirecTV, like many other cable companies, has experienced a mass exodus of TV customers as the number of streaming platforms continues to multiply. 

According to a recent report from MoffettNathanson, which was shared with TheStreet, DirecTV lost approximately 288,000 cable customers during the third quarter of 2025.

Cable and satellite TV companies lost a total of 988,000 TV customers during the quarter, highlighting that the cord-cutting trend continues to gain momentum. 

A recent survey from All About Cookies found that many consumers don’t regret their decision to cut their cable TV service. 

How many Americans still watch cable TV in 2025:

  • Less than 30% of Americans watch TV through traditional cable or satellite services.
  • Specifically, 40% of Baby Boomers use traditional cable or satellite TV services, compared to the 21% of Gen Z consumers.
  • Also, 95% of cord-cutters are satisfied with their decision to transition away from traditional TV services, while only 5% regret it. 
  • Approximately 90% of Americans watch shows through paid streaming services.
  • The average person pays $48 per month for about three popular streaming services, while the average amount consumers pay for cable TV is $83.
    Source: All About Cookies

“Rising cable costs and the thousands of options for shows and movies on various streaming services have been key factors in the popularity of cord-cutting,” wrote Josh Kobert, data journalist at All About Cookies, in the survey.

“As long as streaming subscriptions are more affordable than cable for the average household, it makes sense to move away from cable,” he said.

DirecTV is losing customers amid heightened competition from streaming services.

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DirecTV warns a growing threat could cause more customer losses

As DirecTV sees cable subscriber numbers drop, it has scaled back its satellite TV service and increased its focus on developing its streaming business.

However, despite this change in direction, DirecTV recently sounded the alarm about a growing threat to its satellite TV service – SpaceX’s Starlink.

In 2019, SpaceX launched Starlink, its satellite internet service, which has attracted over 9 million customers to date. 

The service is available in over 155 countries across all seven continents and has high demand in both rural and underserved areas, which are the main markets for satellite TV services. 

Providing internet to these areas makes it easier for consumers to switch from cable to streaming services, posing a major threat to DirecTV and other satellite TV companies.

Currently, SpaceX has over 9,000 Starlink satellites in orbit, and Quilty Space analysts predict Starlink will generate $15.9 billion in revenues by 2026. 

As demand for Starlink is expected to grow, SpaceX previously submitted an application to the Federal Communications Commission in August, requesting a waiver for Equivalent Power Flux Density (EPFD) limits. These limits essentially set power density limits on satellites, allowing SpaceX to modify its low Earth orbit Starlink satellites.

In the application, SpaceX said the limits are “outdated” and that waiving them for these satellites can “provide significantly higher throughput speeds and an increase in network capacity for consumers immediately.”

However, in a letter sent to the FCC on Dec. 15, DirecTV argues that if the FCC were to waive these limits for SpaceX, it could “expose DirecTV and its customers to significant, additional harmful interference,” impacting satellite TV service. 

DirecTV claims that its satellite dish terminals for customers have no way to reduce the impact of any interference from SpaceX, which could result in customer losses. 

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“In most cases DirecTV will have little insight into how much additional NGSO (Non-Geostationary Orbit satellite) interference has degraded a particular customer’s experience until that customer decides to unsubscribe from DirecTV’s service, at which point any remedy to the interference would come too late,” wrote DirecTV in the letter. 

In August, SpaceX claimed that if it receives a waiver on EPFD limits, it can prevent interference with other satellite networks. 

The company even submitted test results to the FCC involving DirecTV Colombia. SpaceX claims that the test shows the signal degradation risk to DirecTV satellites in Colombia is “negligible and the increase in short-term link unavailability is only ~0.05%.”

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However, DirecTV conducted its own analysis of SpaceX’s tests in Colombia, warning that interference risks from SpaceX’s Starlink satellites, which can result in service outages, “are not rare” and can occur “repeatedly every day, even at locations with a normally very strong link.”

In a Dec. 15 FCC filing, SpaceX claimed that DirecTV’s analysis of its test is a “flawed study.”

“For its part, DIRECTV presented a poorly designed model as a counter to one of these realworld tests,” said SpaceX in the filing. “This study was prepared by a consultant, Marc Dupuis, with a long history of designing biased studies to disadvantage next-generation satellite systems, and this study does not buck that trend.”

SpaceX’s Starlink is ahead of its competition

The stern warning about SpaceX’s Starlink from DirecTV comes during a time when Starlink is resonating with consumers nationwide. A recent survey from CableTV.com found that Starlink has the highest approval score among U.S. consumers (94%) compared to other internet providers. 

Top five internet providers based on approval ratings: 

  • Starlink (94%)
  • Google Fiber (84%)
  • T-Mobile (82%)
  • Verizon (81%)
  • Xfinity (79%)
    Source: CableTV.com

“Starlink continues its first-place sweep in this section with a whopping 94% approval score, and it’s once again followed by Google Fiber and T-Mobile 5G Home Internet,” wrote Eric Chiu, CableTV.com internet editor, in the survey.

“These three ISPs (internet service providers) target very different markets but found success by overdelivering on customer expectations for areas like reliability, performance, and value,” he continued.

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