Number of Michigan cable providers, subscribers continues to decline in 2024

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The number of operators of video and cable television in Michigan decreased by two to 29 in 2024, and the number of subscribers to the services continued a long-term decline, according to the Michigan Public Service Commission’s annual Status of Competition for Video Services report released today.

Providers reported 1,100,636 video and cable customers in Michigan in 2024, a decline of 186,874, the third consecutive year of drops after a one-time bump in subscriptions during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021.

Outside of 2021, the number of subscribers has been on a steady decline since a peak of 2.3 million subscribers in 2015, reflecting a nationwide trend as customers switch from video and cable services to internet streaming services.

Meanwhile, the number of franchise agreements between video and cable providers and municipalities increased to 2,274 in 2024, up from 2,206 in 2023.

The MPSC bases its video and cable report on responses by providers to an annual MPSC survey. The report, now in its 17^th year, is submitted by Feb. 1 each year to the Governor and Legislature. The report does not include satellite TV providers, which do not fall under the jurisdiction of the Uniform Video Services Local Franchise Act.

Seven of the 29 video and cable TV providers who responded to the MPSC’s voluntary survey reported investing more than $1.7 million into the Michigan video and cable market in 2024.

The MPSC works to resolve disputes between customers, municipalities and video and cable television service providers. The MPSC received 808 customer complaints in 2024, a 63% decrease from 2,183 customer complaints in 2023. The most common complaint involved cable line issues, followed by billing charges and internet service problems.

A complaint form is available at the MPSC’s Video/Cable webpage, which also lists contact information for service providers in Michigan and consumer tips.

The video and cable report is based on franchise entities and video and cable television providers who responded to the MPSC survey, and other information collected by the MPSC.

The report makes several recommendations to the Legislature:

• Moving the due date of the annual report to March 1 to allow respondents additional time to provide timely and accurate year-end information.
• Requiring video and cable providers to submit additional information to ensure the MPSC has accurate contact information for purposes of handling complaints and gathering information and data pursuant to the Uniform Video Services Local Franchise Act.
• Requiring providers that change company names, go out of business or merge with another company to provide notification to the MPSC.

For information about the MPSC, visit www.michigan.gov/mpsc, sign up for its monthly newsletter or other listservs. Follow the MPSC on Facebook, X/Twitter or LinkedIn.

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