Loss of 300,000 subscribers in Q3 seen as good news for US pay-TV

New York

HOW bad have things been for the pay-television industry lately? An estimated 300,000 Americans dropped TV service last quarter, and analysts are calling it good news.

Predictions for subscribers who cancelled their video packages - from cable, phone and satellite providers including Comcast Corp and Dish Network - range from about 280,000 to 360,000, based on analysts' estimates compiled by Bloomberg. That's about half as many as in the second quarter, which at more than 600,000 set a record.