As Todd Spangler of MultiChannel News reported, DirecTV has supposedly added 100,000 “new” DirecTV subscribers, but ATT&T only reported a net gain of 5,000 satellite TV customers. Todd goes on to suggest that this means roughly 95,000 AT&T customers switched to DirecTV away from Dish Network.

There is one other possibility. AT&T has a pretty high turnover rate, so if 95,000 customers leave every quarter, but 100,000 sign up, this would explain it as well. AT&T would of then directed those 100,000 new customers to DirecTV, their new partner, and the lost customers simply left. Both Todd’s theory of all 95,000 switching away from Dish Network, and mine regarding AT&T’s customer turnover rate, are most likely far off.

The reality is probably somewhere in the middle: A mixture of customers leaving AT&T, new customers signing up,  and old customers switching over to DirecTV.