Move over (slightly) YouTube TV, there’s another Pay TV player making positive headlines. Finally!

For the first time since 2020, Charter/Spectrum added more pay TV subscribers than it lost in a quarter, posting 49,000 net video additions in Q4 after years of decline (compared to -123K in Q4 2024). The company lost -255K net pay tv subs in 2025 which is a significant improvement over the 1.2M it lost in 2024 and 1M it lost in 2023. They end the year with 12M subs.

How? Bundling (and a few other things)

Charter credits its turnaround largely to bundling ad-supported streaming services — including Disney+, ESPN, Hulu, Max, and Peacock — alongside simplified pricing. Skinny bundles, ad-supported tiers, even carriage disputes amongst competitors all contributed to improvements in both video and broadband churn.

Why does this matter for Media, Streamers, and Sports?

1.The traditional bundle is evolving into a relevant streaming aggregator.

2. Especially for the cable industry, churn is the metric to watch — not subs.

3. Ad-supported tiers are becoming foundational and key for high-value broadband subs

4. Live sports remain strategic glue and can drive customer switching with lost access.

Key Takeaway: Pay TV isn’t staging a comeback — it’s transforming into a connectivity-led, streaming-enabled retention product.

Read about what customers look for in a streaming bundle in our blog, The Great Rebundling.

Read more about Charter, here.